In God’s Classroom
"So Abraham called that place 'The LORD will provide.'" Genesis 22:14 (NIV)
My first exposure to multiplication tables occurred in Miss Chambers’ fourth grade classroom at Fairview Elementary School when I was nine years old. I can still close my eyes and visualize the flashcards at the top of the long black chalkboard that lined the walls of her classroom. Each week Miss Chambers would fill the blackboard with multiplication problems. We lined up as two teams opposite the blackboard and competed to see which teams could answer the problems quickly and correctly. It was fairly easy at first, especially for the 1 and 2 tables, but with each additional number, the multiplication tables became increasingly difficult. What wasn't hard, however, was the concept of multiplication. You didn't have to be a mathematical genius to quickly see that the numbers got much bigger quicker by multiplying than by addition. Once we got past 2+2=4 and 2x2=4, it was obvious that multiplication beat addition for getting to higher numbers faster.
I've had two multiplication lessons in God's classroom over the last couple of weeks. A friend in our Sunday School class is suffering from a chronic debilitating disease that has required several recent and frequent hospitalizations. She also has some disease related dietary restrictions, so I had been mailing meal gift cards instead of preparing food to take. I quickly realized that my friend's needs were more than I could handle by myself. As a result, I sent an email to our Sunday School leadership team and just asked them to let our class know that our friend needed some meals. Within 24 hours six families contacted me and offered to help. Someone else offered to set up an online meal schedule and coordinate ongoing efforts. My friend received the meal help she needed (but wouldn't ask for) and I was relieved of bearing the burden by myself and being overwhelmed. Many hands did make the load lighter and we built community in the process.
Last week our church hosted Vacation Bible School. We had over 1000 people involved in the five-day event. The 2019 VBS mission project sought to provide school uniforms for children living in an impoverished area of India. In order to go to school, each child must have a school uniform that costs $50. No uniform means no school. Our VBS goal was to raise enough money to supply 300 school uniforms to children living in a village where one of our missionaries lives and works. Some of our VBS children raised money by selling brownies or cookies. Others had traditional lemonade stands or did extra chores for parents or grandparents. My two granddaughters Julia (age 7) and Caroline (age 5) asked their Mom what they could do to raise money for the project. Together they prayed and opted to sell some gently used stuffed animals for $1 each. No one else was selling stuffed animals at VBS and the girls weren't sure that anyone would be willing to buy them. Their Mom encouraged them to pray and ask God to send buyers. To their amazement, even some fifth graders at VBS purchased stuffed animals. Julia and Caroline raised $38 and were thrilled to have a part in the children's uniform campaign. At the closing VBS ceremony, the total school uniform collection was announced: $19000 was raised! The children's fund raising efforts will provide 394 school uniforms. This project is what our missions team likes to call a "2 for 1" project. It not only benefits the children going to school, but local women are hired to sew the uniforms. The women receive wages from their work so both the children and the moms are helped. And once again, far beyond the initial project purpose, community is being built in both our church and the village in India.
Multiplication and community are all essential elements of Body Life within the Kingdom of God. Coach Nick Saban, Head Coach at the University of Alabama, is famous for his "Process." Coach Saban begins with individual athletes and somehow molds the young men into championship football teams. Within the Kingdom of God, His multiplication process unfolds: We see or recognize a need; have compassion for meeting the need; lay the need before God asking Him to provide in ways beyond ourselves; we do our next thing- whatever our hand finds to do - and trust him with the results. God not only provides resources, but also multiplies them far beyond anything we could have achieved on our own by inviting others into His process. The primary need is ultimately met, we also receive blessing, and community is built in the process.
The book of Nehemiah records the remarkable story of individuals coming together to achieve a seemingly impossible goal. Walls that had lain in ruins for 150 years were rebuilt and restored in only 52 days when the entire city rallied to do the work. Nehemiah's summary verse describing their finished project is recorded: "This work had been done with the help of our God." (Nehemiah 6:16) The building project resulted in much more than a restored city wall. Community was also built as people prayed and worked together to achieve a goal greater than themselves.
Author John Ortberg defines community as "reciprocal rootedness" and writes, "The yearning to attach and connect, to love and be loved, is the fiercest longing of the soul. Our need for community with people and the God who made us is to the human spirit what food and air and water are to the human body."
Multiplication, ministry, and community: three important lessons from God's classroom. Wherever we are today, those are essential Kingdom of God lessons to be learned.
"Let us arise and build." Nehemiah 2:18 (NASB)