Instructions for Life

Quirky is a word that applies to each and every one of us, I believe.  We all have our own little "quirks" -- things that make us unique, putting it politely, or just downright strange, to be frank.

In ninth grade we had a teacher, Mr. Ness -- quirky.  As children, and that's what we were, or at least how we acted, we ridiculed this man unmercifully.  Irony is, I never imagined just how many times in my adult life I would be reminded of, or refer back to something he said.  A class, a teacher that I had dismissed as a total waste of time (largely because of the "quirks" that made him different from me) became an important resource later in life.  Mr. Ness used to tell us that when people said, "Life doesn't come with instructions, you know!" we should know that it does -- the Word of God.  Mr. Ness never held back -- he spoke to us like the adults we would, hopefully, one day become (although it didn't look good for some of us); he shared personal stories -- things that, at the time, we labeled TMI (Too Much Information) and he answered truthfully all those we questions we asked, even though some were asked just to waste time or add more fuel to our already burning effigy.  I have always told my children that "the truth" when spoken is the truth -- I don't care if it comes from the homeless guy at the Dunkin' Donuts or the ignorant rich guy that just flipped you off at the Wawa five minutes ago.  If it's God's truth, He uses the most unlikely vessels to bring us to His throne.  Mr. Ness gave me the truth -- God's truth.  I know this because he never taught a class without backing it up with the Word of God.

So, today, for my highly underappreciated ninth grade teacher, Mr. Ness, I give you Romans 12.  Click on the link, read it, and tell me what you think.  Tomorrow I'll tell you what I think.