A Perfect Teacher

Lydia ran into the house waving a paper she'd brought from school. "Guess what? Miss Peterson gave us an assignment to do!" she said, out of breath with excitement. "Her projects are always so much fun!"Mom smiled. She was used to hearing about Miss Peterson. Lydia liked her teacher very much and talked about her constantly."Miss Peterson gave us these pictures of birds, and we have to look them up online and color them in with the right colors," said Lydia. "I love coloring! I'm so glad I got her for a teacher this year. She's just perfect!"Lydia pulled out her laptop and started coloring in the birds. But when she came to one of the pictures, she was confused. The bird Miss Peterson had labeled blue jay didn't look like the blue jays she found online. Lydia took the problem to her mother. "Can you help me, Mom? Where can I find this kind of blue jay?""I think Miss Peterson labeled this wrong," Mom said after looking at the picture. "This isn't a blue jay."But Lydia shook her head. "Miss Peterson knows birds!" she insisted. "And she said this is a blue jay.""Just leave it then," said Mom. "You can ask her about it tomorrow."When Lydia came home the next day, she got out her bird homework again. "Miss Peterson did write down the wrong name," she told Mom. "This is a bluebird, not a blue jay." Lydia sighed. "Maybe she's not perfect--but she's still a really great teacher!"Mom nodded. "Yes, and I'm glad you like her so much." After a moment she asked, "Do you know who the only perfect teacher is? The only one who never makes a mistake?" Lydia looked puzzled and shook her head. "It's God," said Mom. "When He tells us something, we know for sure it's right. He teaches us through His Word, the Bible, and He gives Christians the Holy Spirit to help us understand the truth of His Word and guide us in how to live our lives as followers of Jesus.""I never thought of God as my teacher," Lydia said. "But I guess He'd be the best teacher of all!"-Carolyn E. Yost