Treasure hunters go after the riches lying deep on the ocean floors with great passion and courage to press through the difficulties. They pursue this only because they believe there is treasure to be found.
The story of the Bible tells us where the treasure of wisdom is found but the wisdom of the world that has captured the minds of our generation is that they carry the burden of finding knowledge, constructing meaning and making a better world by their own efforts.
In cyberspace, individuals have freedom without responsibility and pleasure without community – all within a private universe accessed through a keyboard. It appears we have come ‘of age’, falling to the temptation ‘to be like God’(Genesis 3: 5) by doing ‘what is right in our own eyes’ (Judges 17:6).
But our story – the Biblical story is a sweeping epic that spans time and eternity and focuses not on self as ultimate but the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth (John 1:14). It begins with God and His creation, the cosmic battle between good and evil culminating in the coming of the One whose Gospel work ushers in the presence of God’s kingdom where all things are being made new. It is the amazing history of God’s revelation and the consummation of a new heaven and earth. We must retell and embody our grand story for such a time as this.
“Just like St Augustine (AD410) …. We are constructing theology and engaging in Christian witness in the shadow of both a dominant empire and a religious pluralism… there is no secular, non-religious sphere as construed by modernity, there is only paganism or true worship.” [1]
How can we assist our students to find God, truth, wisdom and meaning? The journey in pursuit of knowledge and wisdom must begin with submission to our Creator and His Word.
Only trust in God, a transcendent authority, will lift us to wisdom. The fear of the Lord begins in the heart with a response to the Lordship of Christ who is the image of the invisible God and in whom dwells all wisdom and knowledge. Without His grace, our students cannot return to the pathway God designed them to walk. The fear of the Lord arises from the discovery of God’s love for them in their independence and foolishness. The grace of Christ reveals God’s forgiveness and His Spirit writes His law on the hearts of His children.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of breathtaking awe, reverence, devotion, love, trust and delight in His presence. Our students need God’s grace to see God with the eyes of their hearts. Jesus invites all people to seek Him with the promise they will find Him. As our students journey through school, how can we in our role as teachers:
- Encourage our students on their search to know Christ as the one revealed in God’s Word and made known by the Holy Spirit.
- Engage our students in critiquing different stories about the nature of reality and what it means to live well.
- Retell the Biblical story that captivates our students to re-imagine what it means to live wisely in a world that is groaning but ‘being made new’.
As followers of Jesus Christ, you are the storytellers who know the Source of our life and a story that offers the restoration of creation. May you immerse yourself in the Biblical story so that your students may grow to love Christ with their whole being and discover what it means to live wisely in His world.
Grace and Peace
The Team
The Excellence Centre
[1] Smith. Introducing Radical Orthodoxy. Pg46-47