Scriptural Passage: Romans 12: 1- 13 (Life in God's Service).
I decided to reflect on the scriptural passage above for the simple and guided reason that it has helped me realize the kind of life that God wants me, and every Christian to live. It is significant in that it is a lesson I can put into practice for myself and my students, a lesson teaching us that we are not to let our old sinful nature control our lives. Instead we are to let Christ guide our lives. From this perspective, my faith is both nurtured and directed toward the way that Christ can change my life, helping me to develop a new way of thinking. As I let the thoughts of God replace my thoughts, I can know God's good and perfect will in my life.
I feel strongly this passage occupies great wisdom for me as a Catholic and moreover, as a future elementary school teacher. It reminds me that I live in the world, but am not to be like the world. It prompts me to live and teach by acting and thinking in a manner that is pleasing to God. By allowing Christ to work in and through my life, I can best nurture my own faith, which will in turn inform my teaching in a way that is most relevant to the lives of my students. The passage reminds me that teaching is the gift of guiding others to accept the Word of God as the standard for their lives. Every day, I will aim to teach and help my students in their faith learning as they seek to understand the doctrines of the Bible.
I believe it is important to relate the passage to my students" own spiritual experience if its teachings are to be made relevant to each of them. For example, we would talk about how the students may know the will of God in their own lives. They may wish to elaborate on how they, themselves, live to please God. They may want to discuss why God has given us all different gifts to serve Him, and what gifts they feel the Lord may have given them so that they can serve the body of Christ.
