Visionary Education Part One

Every year since junior high I work toward reading through the Bible. A few years ago I decided to search for one specific thing throughout the year. Genesis to Revelation…I wanted to know, “What does GOD say about education?”

Sometimes when we become so familiar with something, we “miss” things. It’s easy to skim over things with a “yeah, yeah, read that a million times…” kind of attitude. I wanted to find out if God had much to say on this topic, since I have a growing family…and an excellent education is something I desire for my children. If I could sit down with the Creator of the Universe and pick His brain about what a “quality education” would entail…what would He say? I had a strong desire to know.

To Educate: To bring up, as a child; to instruct; to inform and enlighten the understanding; to instill into the mind principles of arts, science, morals, religion and behavior. To educate children well is one of the most important duties of parents and guardians. Webster’s 1928 Dictionary

One of the misunderstandings of “education” is that it is, on average, a 12-16 year process. Once a person has graduated from high school, or, in many cases, college, their “education” is completed. This is what I refer to as a “culture box”. We’re going to first jump away from that stifling idea and increase our vision to see that education is an exciting, life-long pursuit. And one can never get to the end of all there is to know!

But what is it that we should be “knowing” in the first place?

I made a list of things that the Bible says human beings need to “know”. The list is not, by any means, exhaustive, but it’s a start.

The good and right way
The power of God
The way a child should go
Spiritual truths
The correct doctrine
To set your hopes on God rather than the fleeting things of this world
The mind of Christ
The ways of God
The true faith
The Law
God’s instructions
Wisdom
Wise behavior
The path of life
The fear of the Lord
The Word of God
To revere God
History
The discipline of the Lord
The commandments

The knee jerk “Christian” reaction to this list is to say, “Well, that’s a great list…and yes…we all know our kids need to learn those things. Duh. But ALSO a lot of other things. There’s nothing in that list about Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The Bible is obviously silent on those practical things.”

So let’s think about that for a minute. What is reading and writing, first of all? It’s communication. Communication was given to the human race by the Creator…because we were created in His image. He communicates. We communicate.

He wrote the most important Book in the universe…for us to read. So reading and writing are inherently a part of an excellent education that would reflect Who God is. His design is that we would pass on (via communication) the truths He has communicated through His Word, His Creation, and His Son, Jesus Christ. If our children are poor communicators, they will be poor conduits of God’s important messages to this world.

Arithmetic. God created the order of the universe. Everything is amazingly coordinated and calculated in macro and micro ways. The greatest breakthroughs in mathematics were made by people like Kepler, Galileo and Newton who held a Christian world view. “…the very possibility of applied mathematics is an expression…of the Christian belief that nature is the creation of an omnipotent God.” (R.G. Collingwood, An Essay on Metaphysics) That’s where all knowledge starts, after all…in the Great Maker of Knowing.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10

It starts with fearing the Creator. Respecting, believing, trusting and loving the Creator. We are, after all, mere Wemmicks. What makes us think we can know anything apart from the One who created us? That kind of attitude is the epitome of arrogance and foolishness. Certainly not the beginning of an excellent education.

I hope you’ll join me again as we continue to pick God’s brain (via His Word) on the topic of education!