Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. (Isaiah 1:17).

Courage and Compassion

Jesus asks us to be like Him. Have you noticed in the scriptures that Jesus
was moved with compassion when he saw the sick and the ailing? We, too, should
be moved with compassion to touch those who are in desperate need. Whether they
cry out as blind Bartimaeus, Son of David, have mercy, or cry silently within their
spirits, Jesus, in us, should be moved to compassion. (Mark 10:47) We must stop and
minister to the oppressed and seek justice for them in our classrooms and profession.
When Jessica, a high school English teacher, heard the horrible news, she
could hardly believe it. One of her students parents had been brutally murdered. She
knew that any words she spoke would fail to express her true compassion for her grief-stricken student, Juanita.
Juanita, a student from an economically impoverished family, was a senior in high school struggling to complete all of
her course work for graduation. She lived with her grand-parents and had long been estranged from her mother, but
that did not decrease the grief at her mothers death. Praying for wisdom and guidance, Jessica encouraged Juanita to
continue her studies and work hard to graduate even in the midst of her grief and to hold onto her dream of one day
being a nurse.
Jessica invited the faculty at her school to begin to contribute to a college fund for Juanita. At the end of the
year, Jessica had collected enough money to give to Juanita to pay for her first years expenses at the local community
college where she would begin her nursing training. One teachers compassion helped to make an oppressed young
girls dream a reality. At the end of the school year, Jessica found a card on her desk. It simply said, Thank you for
shining the light of Christ. Love, Juanita.
At CEAI network meetings many stories of teachers acts of compassion are shared. A first grade teacher was
moved by the extreme poverty of one of her students so she bought this student several sets of new clothing and other
gifts for Christmas. Then, even after the student had left the teachers classroom, this teacher kept up with this student
and her family. This compassionate teacher continued to make annual home visits and provide the young girl with
needed clothing and gifts year after year. She did it out of Christs compassion. A fifth grade teacher in a local
elementary one year was also moved by the extreme poverty of several of his students. With collections from fellow
staff members, this teacher was able to provide a needed stove for one family and heater for another. A math teacher at
a local high school offers free tutorials to students for one to two hours after school each day at no charge. He even
helps students who do not attend any of his classes. He selflessly serves out of compassion and a desire to help
struggling students who desire to learn but cannot afford private tutorials.
For years, the CEAI-Houston network of Christian educators has expressed Christs compassion by serving
youth in poverty and crisis. This organization has provided hundreds of pairs of shoes to be sent to Honduras where a
missionary was distributing them to public school children. (A prerequisite for attending public school was that one
had to wear a pair of shoes which many children could not afford.) Last fall, CEAI-Houston Network donated 100
backpacks full of school supplies to Common Threads, an organization provided clothing and school supplies to youth
in poverty. For years CEAI-Houston has supported an organization called Montrose Street Reach which rescues
runaway teens. CEAI Houston members have a special compassion for spiritually hungering youth and have
distributed thousands of youth Bibles to young people in poverty and crisis. An especially moving story was told by a
CEAI member who had made a home visit at Christmas to a fatherless child who was living with an alcoholic mother.
Efforts to provide beds, bicycles, etc. to the family had proven futile because the mother would pawn whatever was
given to the family for alcohol. During the home visit, the teacher gave the child a Beginners Bible. Upon his return
to school, the child continually carried the Bible around in his backpack, often reading it. The student told his teacher
that his favorite story was when Jesus sat down and ate dinner with his friends. It was a rare occurrence in the students
family whenever this happened. God spoke to the childs heart though that particular story, the Lords Supper. The
child had learned the Lords table was one place where he would always be welcome and fed. Though my father and
mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. (Psalm 27:10)
Prayer: Lord, use us to encourage the many economically, academically and spiritually oppressed students we serve.
Application: Discover the hidden needs of your students; help meet these needs as Christ leads.
Sharing: Share how you have expressed or are currently expressing Christs compassion in your profession.
CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: TEACHER! TAKE COURAGE! (For inquiries contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) WEEK 27