Have numbers ever mattered to God? Sometimes we play the "Numbers Game" and think that if we have a full classroom of students, then we are successful as a Bible teacher and are pleasing to God. We believe if our numbers are in the single digits, we are a failure. Is this true?
As we have studied these many months now, we know that numbers have never meant much to God. Single digits were sometimes admirable in God's eyes. We remember David and Goliath and the Philistine army. How about Noah? Only eight people survived the flood and Noah had been preaching for a very long time. Think back to our lesson on Gideon and his brave 300 soldiers. 32,000 men, even 10,000 fighting soldiers were too many for the LORD! No, numbers have never been important to God!
So, how about the attendance in our classroom? Of course, the more interested, curious minds who have a desire to learn about God, the better, but what if our numbers are small? Is the LORD pleased with small numbers as well? Should we feel like a failure because we have only a few, or perhaps, only one student in which to teach God's Word
Every student is important in God's eyes and is worthy of learning God's Word. The Bible teacher's responsibility to each and every student in the class is to teach to the best of their ability, no matter the number. We never know where God's influence will go in this world. We teach that others might be taught (2 Timothy 2:2). One well-taught student can do much good for the cause of Christ.
Let us not be sluggish when it comes to small classes. May we put just as much work in to teaching one as we would if there were 40! We do not know where the Word will rest after we are gone (Hebrews 11:4). Let us always do our best for the LORD!
