Silent Witness

Extracted from "Check|ist for Life for T e a c h e r s"

"[Jesus] said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.' Mark 16:15"

Karen couldn't imagine a better life than the one she had. A history teacher in a Christian high school, Karen had come to love her work - and the assistant pastor of the church that sponsored the school. David returned the favour, and they married six months to the day after their first date.

Within a year, David was called to a senior pastorate in a rural community in Nebraska. The Johnsons wanted to pay off their student loans quickly, and to do that, Karen needed to work. But the only Christian schools in the vicinity of their new hometown were K-8, and one was hiring. That left one possibility: teaching at a regional publick high school that just happened to need a history teacher.

Karen took the job, but her hopes of cultivating close relationships with other Christian teachers, and building solid principles into the lives of her students, seemed to evaporate before her eyes. The regional school was so much larger than she was accustomed to. The 1 to 15 teacher to student ratio she once enjoyed was a thing of the past; now she had thirty-plus students in every class, and trying to accomplish anything - from getting through a lesson to getting a message to the guidance office - was far more complicated.

Worst of all, Karen no longer felt as useful to God as she had at her former school. She was used to openly talking about God and Jesus and the Bible, and she began leaving campus each afternoon feeling increasingly discouraged. She was so distracted by her concerns about school that she kept up a running conversation with God about the situation for an entire weekend - even during her beloved husband's sermon that Sunday morning.

On Monday, during her first free period, Amanda, a quiet student in her second period American history class, came to her classroom and asked if they could talk. It took a while for Amanda to get past the awkwardness, but finally she said," I don't know if I'm even allowed to ask you this, but ... are you a Christian?" Somewhat taken aback, Mrs. Johnson confirmed she was a believer and that they could talk about her faith since Amanda had initiated the conversation.

Relieved, Amanda slowly opened up about problems at home that were interfering with her schoolwork. Just before the bell rang, Mrs Johnson quietly prayed for her. As she got up to leave, Amanda thanked her, explaining that she and her friends figured Mrs Johnson just had to be a Christian, because she was always so kind to everyone. Over the following weeks, students began to trickle in during Mrs. Johnson's free period, knowing that there they could find a listening ear and a kind heart.

Like Karen, you may not have any inkling of the impact you are making on your students through your silent witness for God. But your unspoken influence on them could have far-reaching and life-changing consequences. God's Spirit has a way of revealing Himself, and His activity in your life, simply through who you are. Most of the time you won't have a clue what it was that tipped people off; in fact, most of the time they won't know either.

Every life is a profession of faith, and exercises an inevitable and silent influence. - Henri Frederic Amiel