I was speaking at a conference about what I do. I said that my passion is helping people emotionally understand the truth of God’s work. I decided to see whether I could illustrate what I meant.

So I said,

Some of you are bosses. Some are parents. Some are spouses or coworkers. Many of you, when you came here, left instructions. You said, “Here’s what I’d like you to work on while I’m gone.” You said, “Don’t forget to study like we’ve talked.” You said, “When a difficult customer comes in, here’s what to do. You remember how I worked with Mrs Smith?” You said, “You know, you may have trouble with the constable. He’s been giving me a hard time, too. Don’t get into an argument. I’ll take care of it when I get home.” And you said, “And remember, text me any time. I’ll get the message. It may take awhile, but I’ll reply.”

For many of us, that picture makes complete sense. In our best moments of leadership, of parenting, of teaching, we have spent time showing people how to do what they should do. We have given models, examples, illustrations. We have shown them how we want them to work, to learn, to live.

And then I suggested that the picture describes what Jesus did when he left the disciples standing on a hillside. His last intructions said, “teach them how to obey what I’ve said.” And he said, “I’ll be with you all the time.”

Often, people who talk about following Jesus focus on teaching what he said, or holding it against people. We don’t do nearly enough working on teaching how it looks to do it – modeling, illustrating, living it ourselves.

But I learn better when I see how something works. You do too.

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Here’s the whole presentation: 3 continent parish