Against the Tide we Multiply
On a holiday Monday in May I enjoyed wandering through the little town of Peebles in the Borders. I spotted frequent reminders of the town’s motto: “Contra nando incrementum”.
Peebles is on the River Tweed, where salmon swim upstream to breed. The coat of arms depicts this, two salmon returning for each one that swims against the current. Roughly translated the motto would be: “Against the tide we multiply.”
I asked myself if we could apply that to our present situation in Scotland’s schools? We frequently are called to swim against the tide. The Bible describes us as strangers, exiles, aliens even (Hebrews 11.13) and daily we feel that way. Today’s system of values doesn’t match ours. The forces of secularism are pushing against all we hold dear about sexual ethics, the role and reach of the state, education and family. Christians face lonely hostility. As Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661) said: “God has called you to Christ’s side, and if the wind is now in His face, you cannot expect to rest on the sheltered side of the hill.”
When we follow Christ, we don’t fit in. But what if, as we follow Him, we were to multiply?
As she makes the hazardous journey from salty water to fresh we consider the salmon’s position precarious. But this is how more salmon are spawned.
“Contra nando incrementum.” What if colleagues and pupils come to know Jesus as we bravely swim against the tide? After all, “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.“ (Daniel 7.14)
Megan Patterson, Chair, CVE Scotland
A testimony of the positive impact a Christian teacher can have in school:
Chloe slammed the car door and ran the last steps into school. Torrential rain soaked her school coat. Battling with the elements and shielding her bag from the rain she didn’t turn and wave to her dad as he drove off. It had been a great weekend, culminating in an inspiring church service last night. Now a week at school stretched ahead of Chloe. A dreariness enveloped her as she trudged into the school building.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Mr Lewis the Maths teacher. He didn’t see her. Perhaps Mr Lewis had that sinking Monday morning feeling too, but he was smiling and walking purposefully into the C Block for registration. Chloe’s shoulders straightened. Mr Lewis was fair and kind, he made Maths do-able for anyone and he led the Scripture Union group.
Last year Chloe had been in Mr Lewis’s class. She remembered how patiently he explained, and she concluded that he must have known his subject well. Maths made sense with him. He had a ready smile and such kind eyes. The only problem was everyone wanted to be in his class. If you got too good at Maths you had to move up into Mr Taylor’s class, no-one wanted that! But that’s what had happened for Chloe.
She looked forward to the Scripture Union group though. There Mr Lewis listened to the questions and concerns of the group and with the same clarity with which he taught Maths he explained the Bible.
Chloe imagined for a moment what school would be like without Mr Lewis. She shuddered. No, it would be unbearable. Just knowing he was in the building was a comfort.
That was 30 years ago, though it seems like yesterday. Chloe has been following Jesus ever since her school days and today she is a teacher herself . The climate in school is different but Chloe’s memory of the impact Mr Lewis had on her, emboldens her. She is open about her beliefs. Her colleagues at Heatherburn Academy know she is a Christian. And on a wet Monday morning when a downcast teenager sees Chloe in the corridor, smiling kindly and walking purposefully, his shoulders straighten.
A few weeks ago Chloe visited Mr Lewis to thank him for his faithful example and to ask him to pray for her that she would have the courage to be an ambassador for Jesus at Heatherburn as he had been. Sadly Mr Lewis’s keen mathematical brain was no longer sharp; but his eyes were kind and the familiar words of the Scriptures he loved came readily to him: “Don’t be ashamed of Jesus in school, Chloe, He’s not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters”. (Hebrews 2.11) “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” (1 Peter 4.16) “Just a little while and we will see Him.”(John 16.16)
Tearfully Chloe left. “A little while.” By God’s grace she would continue to be known as a Christian at Heatherburn whatever the cost. Who knows what impact her life as a Christian teacher might have?
(Names in this testimony have been changed)
[All blogs on our website are the personal view of the writer and do not necessarily represent a position taken by CVE Scotland.]
