This is part 5 of the UP Series – the last part. I hope you’ve enjoyed these devotions!

I didn’t think we should end this week without talking about a verse that permeates our Christian culture in regards to our kids and happens to be painted on a sheep outside. I’m talking about Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV):

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Train UP.

Chances are you’ve heard that phrase no fewer than 5,478 million times. I’ve heard it that many times, and I’m not even a parent. Unless you count being a mom to a crazy dog who has an unnaturally gross obsession with bathroom trash. Again, I digress.

Fall of 2007 was a big semester for me. I started student teaching that semester, and the day I got my assignment, I was very nervous. When I actually opened my assignment, my nervousness jumped from butterflies in my stomach to almost having to look for the nearest restroom. I was going to have the privilege of spending eight weeks in fourth grade, and eight weeks in kindergarten. Kindergarten! They’re babies! They haven’t yet learned that Kleenex isn’t the nearest sleeve, but an actual tissue for their nose. They don’t have full control over their bodily functions (don’t ask). And they cry for their mommy all the time!

As it turns out, Miss Hernandez cries too. Because each time something outrageous happened, I had the almost irresistible urge to run out the door and to my parents’ house. Apparently that’s frowned upon though. It took a few days, and more than a few tears for it to sink in: the beginning of a school year is not so much about the academics, but about the training. And once they’re finally trained and doing things the way we want them done, they up and move to a different teacher.

Think about it: if you’re in training for a brand new job, are you expected to know everything? No of course not. You have a supervisor who teaches you the different parts of your job as you need to know it. There are built-in allowances for mistakes. Shouldn’t it be like that for our students? Isn’t God that way with us?

Very little outside of teaching has grown my relationship with Christ the way teaching has. Something about seeing small children learning how to do their job gives me pause as I do mine. Am I truly training them to do their best, to be successful when I no longer have a say in their lives? I pray that you and I train these students well, not just to be successful academically, but to follow after God wholeheartedly.

And how do we train? I’m glad you asked. I think you’ll find this familiar:

• Train UP by giving UP. Realize that those students we have are on loan, not only from their parents, but also from God. G
• Train Up by cleaning UP. Choose to renew your mind consistently, and let your attitude reflect that of Christ’s.
• Train Up by praying UP. Your students need you to pray for them. Stand in the gap for them as they deal with many challenges and temptations.
• Train UP by speaking UP. Be your students’ advocate as only you can. Be the encourager they may not get anywhere else.

And by “training up a child” in this way, you train yourself to become more Christlike.