You are anointed to change the world
It is not something we hear every day. It is not something we think about applying to ourselves in the midst of our daily routine. It is not something we consciously grasp. The scriptures declare, “You have an anointing from the Holy One” I John 2:20. And because you belong to Him this anointing is yours and it will change the world. Three more times in 1 John 2 it talks about this anointing. “As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you.” I John 2:27 “But as His anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real … remain in Him.” Vs. 27 You occupy a very special position in the Kingdom of God – you teach His most favorite people. You are anointed!
Most of us will say, “But we’re not special.” And that is when God says, “But you are. You belong to me.” If we could only understand how special that anointing is, how beneficial for the children to have someone who brings God’s presence to them. We prepare children not only for time but for eternity. You are anointed – full of His Spirit, full of His love. And you share your anointing with the children just as He wants us to do.
Anointing and destiny Every time the scripture speaks about anointing it involves “calling” and therefore destiny.
Kings and prophets and priests all share in the experience of anointing and the calling and destiny that goes with the anointing. Barbara was reading a devotional entitled “Searching for Donkeys: finding destiny” It is the story of King Saul from First Samuel chapter 9. Saul was sent out by his father to recover some lost donkeys. He and his servant searched for days with no success. They decided to seek the “man of God” for direction to find the lost donkeys. Saul received more than direction – he received an anointing and with that anointing a destiny. Samuel said to Saul, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them (the prophets); and you will be changed into a different person.” When we entered into this Montessori world we first thought this is a wonderful method of education. As we went deeper we began to understand that it was more than a method but a philosophy and then the transformation came when we understood that it was more than all that – it was a way of living. It was the way that Jesus would have us nurture our children – and we became different people. We may have difficulty placing ourselves among the anointed – kings, prophets and priests but kings guide, prophets speak and priests serve each of them have a function in God’s kingdom – for which they are anointed. It is not the person nor the oil that creates this destiny. It is the anointing. And you are anointed.
A limited destiny? Society assigns us a value based on money, looks, talent, family, race, culture and career because they have no understanding of anointing. Saul tells Samuel, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans …?” And then he is anointed. You might ask “Am I not a pre-school teacher, in a small school, in a small city, in an out of the way area, so how does this anointing and destiny count?” Sofia Cavalletti in “The Religious Potential of the Child 6 to 12 years old” shares; “Consider a flower. It spends its life in one place; yet, the wind blows its seed afar, and insects drink of its nectar and then carry its pollen off to fertilize other flowers. Thus, we can say that, through its collaboration with wind and bee, the flower can reproduce itself even in places that are far from it. Throughout the cosmos, an intensive work is going on, a mysterious and intricate work that is binding together all things to conserve and nurture life. This work is creating communion.” E.M. Standing (Montessori’s biographer) writes in the foreword of “The Child in the Church”, “That the complete application of Montessori’s principles to the teaching of religion is something which still belongs to the future. Its fulfillment will require the loving and disciplined labor of many collaborators in a field which still contains many areas of virgin soil. We hope that some readers will devote themselves to this important task.” June 1965 You are now part of that future. Every school, every classroom, every teacher is foundational to preaching the Gospel using Christian Montessori education. Christian Montessori is vital to the transformation of the education that truly transforms children – preparing them not only for life but for eternity. Each school is a lighthouse proclaiming the Gospel. And your anointed role, king or prophet or priest, big or small, is part of this destiny we have to share the Gospel.
