At Calvin we are excited by the prospect of having our students back in the classroom next week.
Teachers across our school have worked incredibly hard to deliver a diverse learning program to their students. However, nothing compares to the face-to-face contact we had only two months ago.
We are created for relationship with others. These past weeks have certainly brought that home to us. God desires relationship with us, and I am often thinking about this. What is He saying through life’s circumstances? What are His thoughts towards me when I criticise one of His other children? Why am I so fearful when His word clearly exhorts us not to be anxious (Philippians 4:6,7)?
“Relationships must go both ways—they involve giving and accepting.”
Relationships must go both ways—they involve giving and accepting. More than ever, we are aware of this now. It’s quite difficult maintaining a lively lesson in front of a camera for students to view the next week. It is challenging to keep a discussion going when there are twenty students in the synchronous lesson but only four faces appear on the screen.
How much does God sit in front of us, His people, wanting to chat, give His blessings, enjoy relationship while that ‘audience’ does not respond? Rheinard Bonnke, a German evangelist who worked mostly in Africa said:
‘If we know Jesus is real, why do we live as if He did not exist? If there is a Father in heaven, why do we behave as if we were orphans? If there is a Saviour, why do we cringe in fear and misery? If there is a Healer, why do we not ask Him for healing?’ Daily Fire Devotional
My husband bought some gingerbread for me today. Did I need it? No. Did I ask for it? No. Was it a return favour? No. He bought it for me because he knows I love it and he wanted to bless me! How much more does our Father in heaven love us? How much more does He want to bless us?
In recent times I have heard a number of people say that one of the best things of social isolation has been learning to value family relationships. I hope that lesson remains, and if God does turn all things around for good for those who love Him, then surely having a new realisation of the importance of relationships is a good thing. And, let’s not forget that we never need to be isolated from Him.
So, we are excited about getting our students back in the classroom. I trust our Coronarama song, ‘We Want You Back’ made that clear :)
Ineke Laning – Acting Principal