As a homeschooling family, our mission is to raise up our children to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, to teach them to love others as Jesus loved, and to encourage them to be lifelong learners. When we speak to others about our mission, most are on board with the first two goals, but we get some pretty interesting looks when we say lifelong learners. I'm sure to many, this sounds like a secular term for academics or the pursuit of worldly knowledge, but when we reflect on the Word of God, we see life learning as something God encourages His children to pursue.
On biblehub.com, "pursue" is the idea of following after something with intent and determination. The word is used in various contexts, such as pursuing an enemy, pursuing peace, pursuing righteousness, and pursuing God Himself. The act of pursuing anything takes effort, hard work, determination, knowledge, wisdom, and skill. Pursuing lifelong learning is important to the journey toward spiritual growth.
Please don't stop reading! I know some of you may have felt a lump in your throat form as you read that last sentence, but please bear with me. I often find myself asking God what He wants me to teach my child. I know that Iowa Homeschooling Law states that I have to teach the four basic subjects: math, language arts, science, and social studies, which we do, but how deep do we really need to go? What about electives? Art, music, health, etc.? Where does it end? Is it really important in the grand scheme of life? As Christians, we should always be more concerned about heavenly things than earthly things, but can we focus so much on heavenly things that we are no earthly good? I don't mean giving into the world, but to the point that we shelter ourselves and our children from the world and hide our light? How does that childhood Sunday school song go? "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine, hide it under a bushel, no, I'm going to let it shine". Where is the balance between letting our light shine, not hiding it, and not letting Satan "blow it out"? What knowledge is good for edification and also preparing our children to be a light to the world?
So, where is the balance? Why is an education so important? When reading the word of God, we see that many of the disciples were fishermen. They most likely learned the trade from their father, skills necessary for success. They were taught how to pay attention to the weather, use the stars to help navigate, how to use math skills to calculate weight, and how to trade fish for goods. They had to have problem-solving skills, patience, endurance, and dedication. Also, I'm sure they had families that they provided for. Although it does not mention their families, we know that more people followed Jesus than just the disciples. There are times (Matthew 17:1-9, Matthew 20:17-19, Luke 1831, Mark 10:32-34) when Jesus pulls them aside. Growing up, I always envisioned Jesus and the disciples walking along, just the 13 of them, from one place to another. But the word of God specifically states that many traveled with them.
Just like the fishermen, the other disciples were called to follow Jesus and left some form of profession behind. Some of those professions are speculative, but we know that Matthew was a tax collector, and Simon was a political activist. Judas must have been involved with money in some fashion as he was chosen to be the treasurer for Jesus' crew above Matthew. Throughout their few years together, the disciples used these learned skills to provide for them during their travels. This is important to know and understand. Yes, they walked away from their jobs, but they used the skills they learned to provide food, shelter, trading, and provision for the group as they traveled. It isn't until Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and the others after Jesus' resurrection, do we hear about allowing the people, the church, to provide for the ministry. I'm sure some of this happened in Jesus' time, but most of the time the disciples and Jesus were met with scrutiny - often fleeing cities, which allowed for very little time for church planting and hospitality.
Maybe I'm loosely interpreting this to mean something it does not, but as far as I can tell, most everyone had some skill or way to make a living. There was no formal educational setting like today. The children learned skills from their parents, or they went to live with someone in the profession and learned as an apprentice. This was true not too many years ago in our own country.
Learning subjects such as math, writing, reading, science, history, health, art, music, welding, carpentry, cooking, sewing, etc., is not bad or stealing from knowing God. Furthermore, when you, the parent, are teaching it, you can assure that what is being taught/learned is always biblically sound or refuted with the Word of God.
With all of that said, learning is life, and life is learning. Our children, at some point or another, will learn all the things listed above, maybe not while they are in your care, but someday. I believe it is not only our job to prepare them to serve the Lord, but also to prepare them for war. The world is an ugly place, and with the increased use of technology, with knowledge and information at the tip of our fingers, our children will learn all about everything we are attempting to protect them from.
Along with preparing them for what they will face in the world, having skills that enable them to provide for themselves, and their future family is essential. As homeschool parents, we need to ensure that we are not ignoring the realities of the job market, remaining unaware of its current trends. Pay attention to the job turnover at the fast-food restaurants. Look into the requirements for blue-collar jobs. What about factories? What skills are needed? Even if your child decides to go into ministry, what skills are needed to provide the services of ministry? Do they need to know history? What about science? They may not need to be scholars in those areas, but I can guarantee that at some point in time, he or she will be faced with questions from someone who is using science and history to refute the word of God. Isn't it better for them to know about these things and have a strong biblical response than to be caught off guard? If used properly, knowledge is power for Christ, not weakness.
How does this all apply to lifelong learning? Just as it will take us our lifetime to know what God wants us to know about Him, about our relationship with Him, it takes a lifetime to learn about everything around us. As parents, it is our job to follow God's will for our children while they are in our care. If we feel like we are falling short yet continue to use excuses for our failure to prepare them, using God and knowing Him as our scapegoat, then we are not preparing our children for full-on war. Our war is not with people of this world, but with principalities and darkness that exist all around us. People are not the enemy. Knowledge is not the enemy. Science and history are not the enemy. Yes, those things can be tools of deceit; they can also be tools that enhance our understanding and clarity of God's provision, plan, grace, mercy, strength, might, and grace.
Learning subjects like math, writing, reading, science, history, art, music, and trades does not steal from our children's ability to grow in their relationship with Christ. These subjects do not lessen the ability to serve the Lord. It is giving them tools and knowledge that, in turn, can be used for His glory.
My educational background has allowed me to work with many adult learners who have walked a dark path with very little light in their lives. God has given me the ability to see these people as He sees them, broken and desperate for the love of Jesus. My students know I'm a Christian, and they also know that I believe in them. Thirty years ago, I did not know that I would end up teaching adult learners, not only K-10th grade math, writing, reading, science, and social studies, but I would also be teaching them about perseverance, hard work, dedication, and purpose. It's this deep desire for purpose that leads many to stay after class and talk about Jesus, the bible, and church. I do not know how many of these students will walk with the Lord, but I know that the seeds have been planted. God can use everything for His glory if we let Him.
Before we go about our day, checking off learning like a chore list, I challenge you to pray about God's purpose for your children. Pray and ask Him to give you clarity about the things they need to know, so that they are prepared for the future that lies before them. Let us truly pray and ask God for direction. Are we teaching them what we want them to know so that they can baulk at the world around them, wag their fingers in disgust, walk away in fear, or are we raising them to go out and be the light? Are we equipping them for battle? Are we raising them to throw arrows at others, or are we giving them the armor needed to deflect the arrows of the enemy and win hearts for Christ?
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