Honoring Your Teacher

(Part of John Study)

“I glorified you on earth
By completing down to the last detail
What you assigned me to do.” (John 17:1-5 MSG)

How can we glorify God? First we have to figure out our specific assignment. Then we have to complete it down to the last detail. Sounds simple, right? I wish!

Yesterday, I was helping a student with her research paper. I felt like her paper was too long, and that it had too much irrelevant information. She insisted that her instructor wanted all the details that were mentioned during the lectures. I only had second-hand information about her assignment. There is no way that I could know all the details her instructor gave her in class.

We each have our specific assignment from our Instructor. Our tutors and mentors can help us to a certain level, but the only way to know all the details is for us to pay attention to our Teacher—write down all the instructions, take copious notes—whether it seems important or not. Then we have to actually sit down and do the work. We have to get away from all the distractions, as well as from other chores that are vying for our attention. We have to sort through all the information and figure out what is relevant to our particular assignment. Once we feel like we have finished our task, we need to go back over it again, check for mistakes, and complete every last detail. 

The goal is to complete the assignment to the Instructor’s satisfaction--not to our own. Our dedication and attention to detail is not merely for our own edification--it also brings honor and glory to the Teacher.