Craig Clouston

Class Is in Session!

How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?
Matthew 17:17

“Do you remember the twelfth grade?” the comedian asked. “I’d finally arrived. I was a senior!” He said it with such reverence, with the knowing smile of one who had received revelatory understanding. “Man, I loved the twelfth grade! I especially loved the science experiments.” He grinned. “Blew up the lab once! I accidentally knocked a bottle of chemicals into the sink. Smelled pretty bad, so I flushed it down with water! How was I to know that the chemicals and water created a toxic mixture? Man, you shoulda seen the girls faces when those sinks exploded!”
He paused as if reminiscing. “Of course, Mr. Fullen didn’t think it was so funny. He glared at me from across the room and then slowly made his way over. With each step, my pulse beat harder and faster. When he got close enough, he put the Fullen Clutch on me!” Demonstrating the clutch, he made a claw with his right hand, reached across his chest, and latched onto his left shoulder, wincing as if he were experiencing tremendous pain. “We walked the whole way to the principal’s office like that.” He moved as if under Mr. Fullen’s control. The audience was in stitches. Then he dropped the punch line. “Yep, I loved the twelfth grade. It was the best three years of my life!”

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How many of us continually fail the spiritual twelfth grade because of a nonchalant attitude toward learning?
In today’s text, the disciples had been with Jesus for almost three years, yet had failed to grasp a complete understanding of Who He was, Who he represented, and what power and authority was available to them. They were failing their twelfth grade proficiency test, so to speak.
We, like the disciples, fail to learn certain spiritual lessons. Many times it’s because we just don’t pay attention. We fail to grasp the importance of our part in perpetuating the gospel. As Christians, it is our responsibility to pay attention when class is in session. Folks, class is always in session.

Prayer

“Place in my heart a great desire to learn kingdom lessons, Lord. Help me grasp each concept as You present it in ways I can understand. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”