Education is the instilling, I'd love to linger there for about five minutes to
why I chose that word but I won't. Education is the instilling of habits of
mind and habits of heart that incline and enable students for the rest of
their lives to do six things: one, observe the world. Everything books, insects,
planets, mountains, politics observe the world carefully. Two, understand what they
have observed clearly. You can see something and it doesn't make any sort of sense at all.
You want to see it for what it really is and then understand it. Three, evaluate what you
have seen and understood fairly. Four, feel that evaluated reality proportionately. A
well-educated person ought not to have strong feelings about insignificant
matters or small feelings about magnificent matters. A proportionate
emotional life. Fifth, apply all those discoveries wisely. And sixth, express
clearly, accurately, creatively, winsomely with your body and with your mouth and
with your writing in the world for the good of the world however you define it.
Since we're not talking about Christianity, yet. I would stand in front
of a thousand educators who don't know Jesus and defend that definition
for education. Now say it again shorter form. Education is the instilling of
habits of mind, habits of heart, that incline and enable students for the rest
of their lives to observe and understand and evaluate and feel and apply and
express reality for the good of the world. Parents should be doing that.
Schools should be doing that. University should be doing that. Churches and
pastors should be doing that. Sunday School teachers should be doing that.
Forums, and societies, and clubs, and seminars, and conferences should be doing
that. Now what would make it Christian? What would you have to change what would
you have to add what would you have to subtract to make that definition of
education Christian? Education as I have just defined it is Christian if it has
four elements to it so you can talk about your parenting your preaching all
of it is pursued in conscious reliance upon the gracious empowering of the Holy
Spirit. Morning till night Christian education is carried out in conscious
reliance upon the gracious empowering of the Holy Spirit. Number two, Jesus Christ
crucified for sinners and risen is trusted as the basis of that empowerment.
Doesn't come out of nowhere. Nobody deserves it. If you're able to rely upon the power
of the Spirit to observe the world rightly he bought it for you. That's a
gracious gift and Christ is underneath it crucified and risen. Number three, you
do all of that for the glory of God in Christ. It's now resting on Jesus in the
power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. And number four, it's governed by
the authority of the Bible through and through. Those four things would make
education Christian. So, short form, Christian education is the instilling of
habits of mind and heart that incline and enable students for the rest of
their lives to observe and understand and evaluate and feel and apply and
express reality in reliance upon the gracious help of the Spirit of God
purchased by the blood of the risen Christ for the glory of God and the good
of the world all of in accord with God's Word. That's what turns education into
Christian education.