Emphasis Preaching Journal

As a child in Sunday church school, most of the songs we learned were songs learned by our teachers when they were children. Our teachers would then teach us these songs, as they had learned them -- by rote. One of my favorites was "Jesus Bids Us Shine." The words, as I remember them, were:
"Jesus bids us shine, with a clear, pure light,
Like a little candle, burning in the night.
He looks down from heaven,
To see us shine,
You in your small corner
And I in mine."

Part of the reason I liked this song so much was because of the teacher who taught it to us. Her name was Evelyn. Evelyn cared about us -- and not just on Sundays. She took the time to listen to us. If she knew we had a big project to hand in, or a big test to study for, she'd make a point of phoning us and saying, "I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you." If we seemed overly quiet or distressed she'd make a point of saying, "I've asked your mother if I could take you out for an ice cream cone. Would you like to come?" When I look back at my Sunday school days, I now realize that Evelyn let her faith shine in such a way that we could see God at work in her, through her, and around her.
-- Conroy