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September 2010:
The Three R's by Matthew Coad In the month of September, many families are beginning the school year. Some have begun already. Some haven’t finished last year’s school year. (That’s okay--the school year is not sacred. Don’t become a slave to the school year; make the school year serve you.)
Why is education so important? Why do we spend so much time, money, blood, sweat, toil, and tears making sure that our children know reading and writing and science and math? We, as Christians, are commanded to “do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). The greatest commandment is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Everything we do should be pointed toward this goal. How do reading and writing fit into that goal? If you are reading this article, you have already answered that question. God has chosen to reveal Himself in the spoken and written word (Hebrews 1:1-2, II Peter 1:16-21). God created language when He spoke creation into being (Genesis 1:3), and when He spoke to the man He had created (Genesis 1:28-30). Christ Himself is the Word of God (John 1:1-3), the expression of the Godhead (Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:3), and we know Him through the written record of Him (Luke 1:1-4; John 5:39, 20:30-31). All Christians are also commanded to teach Christ’s words to others as well (Matthew 28:18-20). Therefore, we need to be able to read and write, and to teach our children to read and write, so that we and our children can both learn the Word of God and teach it to others. If you cannot read, then you cannot read the Bible. Another way God has revealed Himself to man is in creation (Romans 1:20). When we study creation, we are studying His works; a common motto among many scientist Christians in history was, “thinking God’s thoughts after Him” (attributed to Johann Kepler). God’s command to man was to subdue and have dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:28), and this requires us to learn about how God made the creation to work. Mathematics and the sciences are tools to understand God’s creation and to do the work He has called us to. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important to us as Christians because they equip us to understand God’s revelation in creation and in His Word, and to do what He has commanded us to do. Education is ultimately discipleship (Luke 6:40; Ephesians 6:4), and Christian education is making disciples of Christ; reading, writing, and arithmetic are nothing less than facets of discipleship--tools for knowing and obeying the Lord Jesus Christ. When your son or daughter asks you, “Why do I have to do this?” tell them that they are learning to read and write because God wrote a Book for us, that they are learning math and science because they are studying what God made. When you wonder, “Why are we doing this?” remind yourself that it is to make your children disciples of Christ and to prepare them to answer His call. Suggested resources for further reading, all at The Family Vision Library:
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