Dear students,
No one can think for you. Or needs to. What Luther thought, you may think. What the apostle Paul felt, you may feel. What has befallen any great saint, you may experience. You have permission to live life to its fullest.
Nobody ever said it would be easy. But we were not put on this earth to avoid pain or hard work. However reluctant, we must enter the arena. It is just you and your God. It is, as Ecclesiastes noted, a pilgrimage with inexpressibly joyful peaks and unspeakably painful valleys. At times you will soar like an eagle, and at times you will become so weary you can barely walk. All of which means you must keep going.
Fellow teachers, let's give our students substance this semester. Believe it or not, they crave depth. Let's give them the goods. Just speak the truth because the truth will set them free. With truth comes light, and when enough bright lights are created, the darkness has nowhere to hide.
God bless us all,
Dave