He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Paul’s letter to the Philippians is the most encouraging letter he wrote. This letter was not written to discourage any particular heresy or correct an immoral behavior. Instead, Philippians was written to thank the church in Philippi for their “partnership in the gospel” (1:5). The Greek word translated “partnership” is particularly interesting in the New Testament. Although most modern translations of the Bible translate this word as either “partnership” or “participation” in 1:5, it is helpful to know that the original Greek word is koinonia. This word is more frequently translated as “fellowship” in the Bible. Modern translators have wisely chosen to translate koinonia as “participation” in this verse because they want to make sure that we don’t miss the point that the church in Philippi was engaged in an activity that benefited Paul. However, it should also not be missed that this activity that the church was engaged in also brought them closer to one another, closer to Paul, and closer to God in fellowship. If we are obedient to God in faithful service to fellow believers, we will reap the rewards of closer bonds of fellowship. Understanding that Philippians 1:5 references “fellowship in the gospel” helps us to better understand what Paul means by the “good work” referenced in 1:6. The contributing work of the Philippian church was good precisely because it was done in such a way proved their unity to Christ and helped to develop community in Christ. Although Paul was separated from the Philippian church by many miles, they were near to each other through fellowship in Christ. The contributing work of the Philippian church proved that God had developed this fellowship in them and their good work also further strengthened that fellowship. Frequently, when we read Philippians 1:6, we miss these descriptions of fellowship in the verse. This oversight is partially due to the way koinonia is translated but we also miss the description of fellowship if our natural tendency is to only focus on personal salvation when we consider the gospel. Personal salvation is undoubtedly an important part of the gospel message, but the gospel also contains themes of fellowship in the community of believers, recreation of the earth, and glorification of God. All of these themes are part of the Bible’s gospel message. And all of these themes are being brought to their completion by God’s sovereignty. It is helpful to notice that the “you” in verse 6 is plural. The good work that God is bringing to completion is a work in the community of believers. If we read this verse through an individualistic lens we will focus only on what God is doing in us (which is certainly a very important part of this verse), but when we read this verse through the lens of community we are more likely to see what God is doing through us. Philippians 1:6 teaches both of these very important truths: God works in us and God works through us. In both of these works God is sovereign and he guarantees the completion of his work by his own power. As students consider Philippians 1:6, help them to look at both aspects of this verse. Ask them to consider ways that they have seen personal growth in salvation in their own lives: How have they become more holy? What fruits of the Spirit have they seen grow in themselves? And in what ways has their understanding of God deepened over time? But also encourage the students to consider ways that they have seen growth in fellowship through them: How do they encourage others to godliness? How do they give to those in need? In what ways have they considered others as more important than themselves? And how do they respond to correction from others? If we are in Christ, we are a work in progress and God guarantees by his power that he will complete that work. This week is an excellent opportunity to evaluate God’s growing work in and through us.
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The book of Proverbs is written in a very stylized poetic style. This can make it a little difficult to read at times. The book does not have the narrative unity of a book like Jonah or one of the Gospels. Neither does it have a tight logical flow like one of the New Testament epistles. For this reason, we are occasionally confused when we read the book of Proverbs. It is helpful to know that the book is frequently written in short sections that frequently contain two lines. The two lines relate to one another and help to interpret each other. Occasionally, these poetic couplets are linked together in ways that each couplet helps to interpret the other. This pairing of couplets is evident in verses 6-8 of chapter 3. Verses 7 and 8 help us to better understand what Solomon means by “straight paths” in verse 6. The first couplet in verse 6 indicates that there is a relationship between knowing God and straight paths. It’s fairly easy to miss this connection because the word “acknowledge” in English does not have the same emphasis that it does in Hebrew. In English we frequently use the word “acknowledge” in a way that is synonymous with “recognize.” The word has very little associations with intimacy. In Hebrew, the word yada (normally translated knowledge) frequently implies a deep intimate relationship. The verb in verse 6 is a form of the word yada. Some of the English paraphrase versions of the Bible such as The Message and the New Living Translation do a good job of pointing this out. The Message renders this word as “listen for God’s voice” and the New Living Translation says, “seek his will.” Although these versions are not following the Hebrew text exactly, they help the reader understand that the fuller meaning of the word “acknowledge.” In this verse Solomon is instructing the young learner to have a much more personal and intimate relationship with God. He wants his son to internalize the word of God in such a way that it becomes a part of his character. The second part of the couplet in verse 6 gives the promise of straight paths to those who have a relationship with God. There is a little bit of uncertainty regarding what is meant by “straight paths.” It could refer to success in the various circumstances of life or it could refer to moral uprightness. This is where it’s extremely helpful to look at the two following couplets in verses 7 and 8. In this verse Solomon encourages his son to “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Given this context, it is clear that “straight paths” poetically refers to both circumstantial success and moral uprightness. The person who is in a trusting relationship with God will have a change of heart or character to such a degree that he will learn to love godly behavior or moral uprightness. It’s also true that this “straight” behavior will bring circumstantial success by bringing healing and refreshment. To help students apply these verses to their lives in meaningful ways, we should help them evaluate their relationship with God. This verse instructs the young learner to acknowledge God in all their ways. There is no part of life that is hidden from God and no part of life that we should try to hide from God. Help students to look at their lives and consider the parts of their life that they try to “hide” from God. Ask them to consider these parts of their life and to develop more godly patterns of behavior. Also, God promises straight paths to those who acknowledge him. Ask the students to consider how their life would be different if they were to open the hidden parts of their life to God. What behaviors would change? How would they relate to others differently? How would they spend their time differently? How could they expect their circumstances to change? In the September issue of The Atlantic, Jean Twenge has an article titled “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” Despite the hyperbolic title, this article raises some very interesting points of which parents need to be aware. Many of the generational changes that are listed in this article are very familiar to teachers who have worked with students pre- and post-2007 (when the first iPhone was released). Twenge calls students born between 1995 and 2012 iGen. In this article, she identifies some of the positive and negative characteristics of iGen and makes some recommendations regarding how to guard against some of the most dangerous aspects. According to her research, iGen teens are less likely to engage in physically dangerous behavior or drink heavily. However, these same teens are experiencing dramatically increased rates of depression, anxiety, dependency, and suicide. Through her research, Twenge is able to find a link between increased exposure to social media and these unhealthy characteristics of iGen. Although Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451 over 60 years ago, long before the invention of the smartphone, this book provides some helpful guidance for dealing with the unhealthy habits of screen-culture. Similarly to iGen, almost all of the characters in the book passively receive entertainment and information by staring at screens all day. Only the screens of Fahrenheit 451 are large room-sized screens rather than small pocket-sized screens that fit in pockets and lay on nightstands. In Fahrenheit 451 all the houses are fire proof and the firemen exist to burn books. The main character is a fireman named Guy Montag. Despite the fact that he is a fireman, Montag manages to get hold of a Bible and some other books that he decides to keep. Eventually, he is discovered and forced to hide and run. While he is on the run he develops a friendship with a man named Faber. This friend is older and wiser than Montag and he teaches Montag that three things are missing from the book burning world of Fahrenheit 451. These three things are “quality of information . . . leisure to digest it . . . [and] the right to carry out actions based on what we learn from the interaction of the first two.” It would take a lot of words to unpack all of this and relate it to young students and screen-culture, but I just want to take a couple more paragraphs and talk about the idea of leisure. In Twenge’s article on iGen she mentions that because teens today have delayed adolescence and continue to live in a period of childhood for a longer period of time, they have more leisure time than previous generations. The benefit of Bradbury’s insight in Fahrenheit 451 is that it helps us to make a distinction between leisure and entertainment. Entertainment is being provided with amusement while leisure refers to opportunity afforded by free time to do something. In short, leisure is active and entertainment is passive. Although students today have more leisure time than previous generations they have chosen to use this time poorly in pursuit of entertainment through screens and social media. One of the best things, we can do for our children and students is to encourage them to engage in the activity of leisure. This activity involves more than passive reception from a screen; leisure requires engagement. Encourage your children to develop hobbies. Help them learn how to read books well, ride bikes, go camping, paint, express their ideas in writing, learn a sport, exercise, play an instrument, dance, or almost any other activity that requires the sustained crafting of skill. All of these hobbies are fun, but they also all require activity. Screen culture has traded leisure for entertainment. Help your children build character by learning to love quality of information and giving them the leisure to digest it. This year our school’s theme verse is Proverbs 3:5-6. These are some of the best known and most often memorized verses in the Bible. They instruct us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.” Since many of us have memorized these verses from a very early age, we often fail to slow down and consider them deeply. For these first couple of weeks, we will spend sometime meditating on these verses. This week we will memorize and consider Proverbs 3:5 and next week we will look at verses 6 and 7.
In Proverbs 3:5 Solomon instructs his son to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Since one of the primary purposes of education is to teach students to understand the world through critical thinking, it might seem a little ironic that we have chosen to begin the school year by having them memorize a verse that encourages them not to lean on their own understanding. This is one of the reasons it is especially important that we stop and consider the meaning of this verse. In order to understand this verse rightly, it is necessary to consider the meaning of trust and understanding. Trust, in particular, is a word that is frequently used differently than it is in the Bible. Sometimes we use the word trust in a way that discourages people from thinking very much about their circumstances. We might say something like, “Don’t worry about the monster under your bed. Just trust me. There’s nothing there.” But in the context of Proverbs 3, trust works a little differently. Trust requires memorizing God’s word, steadfast love, and faithfulness to God’s word (vv 1-3). Trust in God, is not a reasonless trust. It is a trust that requires diligence, humility, and a change in behavior. Trust involves a desire to learn, analyze, memorize, and apply God’s word. This description of trust helps us to better understand what is meant by Solomon when he says, “Do not lean on your own understanding.” Solomon is most definitely not encouraging a type of ignorance or reasonless trust. Instead, he is encouraging his son to allow his thinking to be completely conditioned by his reflection on and obedience to God’s word. Although this is far from a reasonless trust, it is also radically different from the most common understanding of critical thinking. Normally when educators encourage a type of critical thinking they are encouraging students to think “autonomously” (or as if they were a law unto themselves). Trust in God requires a drastically different approach to thinking. Rather than teaching students to think autonomously, we are teaching students to think with surrendered understanding. This description is different than the typical 21st century description of understanding, but it is still a form of critical thinking. By definition, critical thinking requires a criterion. The goal of surrendered understanding is to move this criterion from autonomy (or self) to Scripture. In order to help students best apply this verse, help them to consider the various sources of trust they have in their lives, and how these various sources of trust shape their decisions. Some of these sources of trust will have a great biblical foundation such as parents, teachers, the fellowship of believers, and other Christian authorities. However, most students are likely to find that many of their sources of trust have a much less certain foundation. These might be entertainment, pop culture, or autonomous reasoning. These sources will create misunderstandings of God’s world and unhealthy ways of thinking. This year we want to discourage reasonless trust and build in students the capacity for critical thinking that is based on the criterion of Scripture. This is what I’m calling surrendered understanding. This blog is designed to assist families in educating their children from a classical Christian perspective. On this site you will find commentaries on weekly memory verses, thoughts on educational practices, and some suggestions to help you and your child develop the critical thinking skills associated with a classical Christian education.
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AuthorAs principal of Midway Covenant Christian School, I've designed this blog to give insight and guidance to our school family. ArchivesCategories |