I've given many answers over the years: I love to see the light of understanding in the eyes of those I teach. I love the Spirit I feel when I teach about eternal truths. I love the feeling of saying something I hadn't planned on, but felt impressed to, only to have someone come and say that that particular thing was just what they needed to hear. I love using the talents that God gave me for His purposes. I love the people I teach. I love the energy of a good lesson. I love to bear testimony of what I believe.
But still there was another reason that I love to teach that I couldn't quite find the words for. Until yesterday. It is a quote by S. Michael Wilcox, an author an avid public speaker. I realized when I read this that yes, I love to teach for others, but my love of teaching comes from the fact that when I teach, that is how I am filled.
He said:
Sometimes I start a class or talk feeling my souls
is as empty as a dry lake bed
and I have nothing to offer,
But when I rise and begin to speak,
the water of truth seeps in and fill me,
and I know that I know. I am strengthened by my own voice.
The memory of hearing the water flowing into me stays and sustains me even in the driest periods.
It is when I teach the things that I have studied and prepared that God confirms to me they are true. My own doubts and fears tell me I have nothing to offer. But when I speak, He reminds me I am not offering myself, but Him. And that is what fills me.
What fills you?
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