Jesus made it clear what is most important in the Christian life, commanding believers to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). The Greatest Commandment ought to provide the foundation for all learning in Christian education. Spurgeon (1857) interpreted the commandment simply: “We are to love Him with all our life, for that is the meaning of it.” Loving God comes before all other priorities because, according to Matthew Henry , this "will effectually take us off from, and arm us against, all those things that are rivals with him for the throne in our souls, and will engage us to every thing by which he may be honoured, and with which he will be pleased."
Spurgeon described the comprehensive nature of this love of God: “For we are to love Him with all our heart, heartily—with all our soul, that is, to the laying down of our life—with all our mind, that is mentally; and we are to love him with all our strength, that is, actively.”
Although disagreement might exist in determining under which “category” a human act or function might fall, the overall purpose of the command is for an all-encompassing love of God.
Heart and Soul
The heart (kardia) and soul (psychē) pertain to “the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours” (Blue Letter Bible). Learning outcomes aimed at loving God with heart and soul would include the development of a personal relationship with God through an understanding of sin and grace, a lifestyle of prayer through the Spirit, and an attitude and practice of sincere worship.
Often in Christian schools, a profession of “being saved” is the extent of any emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ. Students are encouraged to “pray the prayer” and then behave appropriately. But all too often, no connection between the reality of salvation and the source of power for obedient living is made. Teachers can emphasize this principle by encouraging prayerful responses to difficulty, temptation, and failure, thus modeling for students that their relationship with God should influence all aspects of their lives. Sinful choices by students provide excellent opportunities to teach on the profound gift of the Cross. While sin has earthly consequences, and Christian schools should not gloss over these, the message of forgiveness and the unconditional love of God can only be understood when the reality of sin is realized.
Worship is also appropriate in the classroom setting. Praising God for success is a powerful reminder that the glory belongs to Him. The Old Testament offers examples of how musicians were at the front of the battle, and the singing of a praise song or hymn at an appropriate time in class can teach students that their relationship with God is active at all times, not just during chapel services.
Mind
The mind (dianoia) pertains to “a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring” (Blue Letter Bible). Learning outcomes aimed at loving God with the mind would include an emphasis on the thought life and motives, the development of the intellect for God’s purposes, and effective Bible study through good hermeneutics.
Loving God with the mind starts with properly reading, interpreting, and applying His Word. The foremost goal of literacy in early childhood ought to be the reading of the Bible, and in the middle and high school years, development of hermeneutical skills becomes a priority. Bible study is not simply for morality development but for a proper understanding of and relationship with God:
Even where teaching the Bible to children is a priority, teaching Bible doctrine seldom is. Children hear the same Bible stories repeatedly, almost always as moral lessons on how to behave. Typical Sunday school lessons reduce Bible stories to moral tales much like Aesop’s fables. The focus is on the human being in the story, who becomes its main character. . . . When Bible stories are used in this way, God sits on the periphery of the narrative, like the genie in a fairy tale, blessing human actors for good behavior or cursing them for failures. Children seldom learn to see that God Himself is the main character of every Bible story. (Meade, 2000, p. 4)
While the school setting traditionally focuses on academic development, a distinctive of Christian education ought to be an emphasis on a personal relationship with God. Academics prepare students for success in their earthly lives, and as far as this is applied with a heart for fulfilling God’s call on a young life, this is appropriate. However, academic subjects ought to enhance spiritual growth as well, because there are elements of every subject that reveal the character of God. This aspect of academic instruction needs to be more fully explored to contribute to the learning outcome of loving God both with the heart and soul and with the mind.
Strength
The strength (ischys) includes “ability, force, might” (Blue Letter Bible). Learning outcomes aimed at loving God with strength would include physical activity to the glory of God, the care and purity of the body, and understanding of nutrition and fasting. Opportunities for using the body for God’s purposes, such as ministry in the community, could provide a model for an active love of God beyond emotions and intellect. Many Christian schools offer competitive athletics as part of their educational programs. These provide excellent opportunities for helping students learn to glorify God, and not themselves, through appropriate attitudes and actions.
A study of biblical roles of men and women and the practice of these principles in the daily life of a school, discussions on appropriate choice of dress for modesty, and a survey of biblical principles of purity would all help students understand what it means to love God with all their strength. As with all behavioral mandates, teachers must constantly remind students that living the Christian life is only possible through dependence on the Holy Spirit. Without this dependence, students will continually face frustration in their failure to live up to the standard.
An element of the Christian life often ignored in educational settings is fasting. Always considering individual nutritional or other physical needs, schools can implement fasting days to teach dependence on God for strength and endurance. Classes might choose creative fasts, such as giving up television for a week, choosing to spend that time in prayer, worship, and Bible study. As with many activities, this type of commitment can become an arena for competition and individual glorification, and teachers must clearly communicate the proper motivation and purpose for any fast.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Sermon on the Mount and Christian Schools
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and specifically the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) provide instruction from Jesus on the Christian life. The emphasis is not on the Law or seeking justification through living a good life, but rather on strengthening a Christian’s relationship with Christ in order to enable obedience to God. When considering how seriously Christians take the gospel, Lloyd-Jones wrote, “The best way of concentrating on that question is, I think, to face the Sermon on the Mount” (p. 8). Lloyd-Jones specifically pointed out the right view of cause and effect, stating, “We are not told in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Live like this and you will become Christian’; rather we are told, ‘Because you are Christian live like this’” (pp. 11-12).
Christian school instruction of the principles in the Sermon on the Mount, and specific learning outcomes in this area, must begin with the development of the relationship with Christ in order to enable the Christian life espoused in the sermon rather than simply telling students to strive (in their own strength) to live well. This is the error of a social gospel interpretation of the sermon, yet it is often how young people interpret biblical teachings. Lloyd-Jones pointed out that Jesus began his sermon with the Beatitudes for a purpose:
"The order in which the statements come in the Sermon is really of supreme importance. The Beatitudes do not come at the end, they come at the beginning, and I do not hesitate to say that unless we are perfectly clear about them we should go no further. . . . Certain postulates are laid down, and on the basis of those, certain other things follow. Thus I never discuss any particular injunction of the Sermon with a person until I am perfectly happy and clear in my mind that that person is a Christian." (p. 17)
Why? “None of these descriptions refers to what we may call a natural tendency” (Lloyd-Jones, p. 26). Teachers must offer instruction on Christian character in the Sermon on the Mount only with parallel emphasis on living this life in dependence on the Holy Spirit. In the natural self, no one possesses the ability or tendency to live this life, and only in close relationship with God is it possible. This is one reason why it is so important for Christian schools to implement redemptive, rather than punitive, discipline policies.
Christian school instruction of the principles in the Sermon on the Mount, and specific learning outcomes in this area, must begin with the development of the relationship with Christ in order to enable the Christian life espoused in the sermon rather than simply telling students to strive (in their own strength) to live well. This is the error of a social gospel interpretation of the sermon, yet it is often how young people interpret biblical teachings. Lloyd-Jones pointed out that Jesus began his sermon with the Beatitudes for a purpose:
"The order in which the statements come in the Sermon is really of supreme importance. The Beatitudes do not come at the end, they come at the beginning, and I do not hesitate to say that unless we are perfectly clear about them we should go no further. . . . Certain postulates are laid down, and on the basis of those, certain other things follow. Thus I never discuss any particular injunction of the Sermon with a person until I am perfectly happy and clear in my mind that that person is a Christian." (p. 17)
Why? “None of these descriptions refers to what we may call a natural tendency” (Lloyd-Jones, p. 26). Teachers must offer instruction on Christian character in the Sermon on the Mount only with parallel emphasis on living this life in dependence on the Holy Spirit. In the natural self, no one possesses the ability or tendency to live this life, and only in close relationship with God is it possible. This is one reason why it is so important for Christian schools to implement redemptive, rather than punitive, discipline policies.
Redemptive Discipline
Because of the Fall (Genesis 3, Romans 3:23), every school will have its share of behavioral issues. Temptations abound, and students need to work through what it means to resist and live the abundant life through Christ. When students make wrong choices, a distinctively Christian school will use redemptive discipline procedures to help the child recognize the sin, repent, receive forgiveness, and be restored to the body of Christ. This does not negate earthly consequences for wrongdoing; students can learn that there are consequences for sin, but that in the body of Christ, there is also forgiveness and restoration. As Tripp suggested:
"The central focus of childrearing is to bring children to a sober assessment of themselves as sinners. They must understand the mercy of God, who offered Christ as a sacrifice for sinners. . . . The focal point of your discipline and correction must be your children seeing their utter inability to do the things that God requires unless they know the help and strength of God. Your correction must hold the standard of righteousness as high as God holds it. . . . Discipline leads to the cross of Christ where sinful people are forgiven. Sinners who come to Jesus in repentance and faith are empowered to live new lives."
"The central focus of childrearing is to bring children to a sober assessment of themselves as sinners. They must understand the mercy of God, who offered Christ as a sacrifice for sinners. . . . The focal point of your discipline and correction must be your children seeing their utter inability to do the things that God requires unless they know the help and strength of God. Your correction must hold the standard of righteousness as high as God holds it. . . . Discipline leads to the cross of Christ where sinful people are forgiven. Sinners who come to Jesus in repentance and faith are empowered to live new lives."
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