Emphasis Preaching Journal

We who follow Christ need to remember what the Bible says about him: "Son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering" (Hebrews 5:8, TEV). At the end of summer, people return to school. "Nobody likes me at school," said a son to his mother. "The teachers don't, and the kids don't. The superintendent wants to transfer me, the bus drivers hate me, and the custodians have it in for me. I don't want to go." But, his mother insisted, "You have to go. You're healthy. You have a lot to learn. You've got something to offer others. You're a leader. Besides, you're 49 years old, and you're the principal! You've got to go to school!"

The word school came from the Greek word "skhole," meaning leisure. Originally, this time of leisure was the children's playtime. Eventually, teaching was added to this period and the building where all this happened was called a "skhola." From that word came the Latin word "scholaris," a school child. Lon Watters offered this definition: "School is a building that has four walls -- with tomorrow inside." Life itself, with its challenges and suffering, can be a "school of hard knocks." Slowly and through suffering, we learn obedience. We are walking in the footsteps of Christ. "Son though he was, he learned obedience in the school of suffering" (Hebrews 5:8, NEB).
-- Chinn