The Saving Knowledge

It was Sunday like always in Mrs. Albertine's Classroom and the children were eager to learn. They wanted to know why it was important to be saved. They wanted to know why salvation was important apart of life. And so they bombarded Mrs. Albertine with questions. They did not know how prepared and well spoken Mrs. Albertine was. She was an older teacher and she had lived her life teaching about what it means to be saved as her family were missionaries. Mrs. Albertine began with easy and she said Do you know about George Washington? And the class all knew. He was baptized as an infant and, while his adult religious beliefs were complex and sometimes ambiguous, he continued to attend services, was biblically literate, and used language that indicated belief in the Christian God, including a phrase that affirms Jesus's divinity. Washington's hero was Jesus Christ even throughout all his ordeal with constant sickness. He believed that Jesus Christ was the way, truth and life. And the class looked in awe. She went on What about Abraham Lincoln? and the class wondered. Abraham Lincoln never officially became a Christian by joining a church, but his faith deepened over time, particularly during the Civil War, and he expressed a growing belief in a divine plan. His faith was influenced by grief, the Bible. Lincoln loss his mother at an early age which dampened his faith. Lincoln had a hard life but he counted his blessings along the way and he believed that God was a comforter. What about Harriet Tubman? And the class wondered. Tubman became a devout Christian through her religious upbringing, an injury in her youth that caused visions she believed were from God, and her deep study of the Bible. She did not let nothing set her back not afflictions not even being born as a slave. She fought because she believed that God had a purpose for her. She dedicated her life to helping others. What about Frederick Douglass? Frederick Douglass became a Christian through a profound, personal conversion as a teenager, fueled by his desire to read the Bible and guided by a spiritual mentor named Mr. Lawson. He was taught to read by a slaveholder's wife and later encountered a Black lay preacher who awakened him to prayer, but it was through his friendship with Mr. Lawson that he developed his faith and hope for freedom. Douglass was curious about God even born in slavery and he did not regret learning the Bible at an early age and learning it over and over again. And being a well outspoken advocate for morals, justice and unity. What about Martin Luther King? Martin Luther King Jr. was raised in the Baptist faith and joined his family's church, Ebenezer Baptist, at age five, but his commitment to Christianity deepened through his theological education and the influence of educators like Benjamin E. Mays. It takes faith to make a great leader. Faith in God to make someone able to do the impossible. Class no matter what your upbringing you must receive the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That knowledge is hope and inspiration. It tells you to love your neighbor as yourself. It tells you to not be afraid of predicaments. It tells you how to be assured in your faith. It tells you how to love someone who done you so wrong. It tells you to be bold for justice. It tells you do something that may not seem right but turns out alright. You cannot just stop doing good. You cannot stop achieving for righteousness. You got to go higher. You got to go deeper. You got to continue until it is finished, done and over. And there is always something bigger to climb, something lower to go, just look to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.