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In an ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) blog, a long-time Christian educator conducted in-depth interviews with a group of young Christian adults. Here is a snapshot of some of his conclusions:
The mission of discipleship training at Crosshill Christian School is simple in its purpose and quite layered in its practices. Through thousands of hours of instruction and interaction, campus mentors invest in the faith transformation of their student body. A key component is integrating and applying faith through a Biblical worldview to the culture and circumstances of their lives. The long-term vision is to guide students toward the truth and value of a permanent conviction in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Building on the faith foundation in the home, we desire students to solidify their faith commitment, making it their own, so that God’s design for authentic belief and subsequent fruit flourishes into adulthood. As our Semester 1 Finals Week wraps up for our High School students, I am reminded of the worst final test grade I ever received. It was in an Advanced Calculus class my senior year at college. I earned a 29%. Yikes! I was devastated at my score, and equally frustrated with my professor. It seemed like all of my classmates were struggling in the class as well (my score was one of the highest). The instructor appeared unprepared and distracted as if the learning of his students was an afterthought for our busy professor. Apparently, our limited learning was par for the course. Our professor’s solution was to simply apply a generous “curve” to the test, earning me a C+ for my shameful 29% score. I continued to work hard to learn as much as I could for the rest of the course and, fortunately, improved my overall grade. But as an aspiring educator, the greatest lesson I learned was to prepare to become a very different kind of teacher!
If complete mastery of Advanced Calculus appears challenging, God’s command to “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48) seems downright impossible. This year as we examine the Fruit of the Spirit in our weekly chapels, I am grateful our heavenly Instructor is a perfect one. He is never unprepared or caught off guard. He is fully committed to our redemption and transformation. But He also has high expectations for our development. Fortunately, His provision for us is far from inadequate. He has chosen to empower us through the presence of His Holy Spirit, who resides in us. Our performance in the flesh will always need a significant “curve” to iron out our gaps in learning. But when we choose to walk in the Spirit, He has fully resourced the fruit He desires us to experience. Not in our own strength, but rather through our weakness, we can access His available power living inside of us. A power that constantly reminds us of our need for not only a Savior to redeem us but a Lord to lead us. God’s mercy and grace in our lives are the ultimate “curve.” He has made all of our tests 100%. Our names are written in his Heavenly grade book, and He will promote us to eternity with Him. Until then, despite our imperfect test scores, He has given us all the correct answers through His Spirit. The ultimate lesson is to work less on fixing ourselves and work out our salvation by allowing God to fix His world through Jesus in us. This past weekend, as I enjoyed an NFL Playoff game, my wife placed an old, heavy, dusty shoebox on my lap. As part of her regular decluttering, she wanted to know if we should still keep it and its contents. Memories of my childhood quickly flooded back, along with nervous excitement as I realized what the box contained. In the box were hundreds of baseball cards I collected in the early 80’s. My son joined me as we quickly researched the value of my archive. Ricky Henderson, Cal Ripkin, and George Brett were recognizable names we started with. While some “mint condition” values pleasantly surprised us, I unfortunately don’t anticipate any radical change to our college savings fund any time soon.
What makes a baseball card valuable anyway? Its age? Rarity? Celebrity status of the player? And who sets the value for a baseball card? An expert? Quality? Supply and demand? God has made known our value in His eyes. He knew us in the womb at the beginning of our intricate design. He made us in His image and even counts the hairs on our heads. Our Father’s house is full of many rooms His Son is preparing just for us. It is clear how our individual value to God is immeasurable. Perhaps the most valuable card I have ever owned as a child was the pitcher Nolan Ryan. But despite my recent detailed examination of my collection, I simply could not find it. My older brother must have manipulated one of his one-sided trades with me back in the day. No wonder I have so many worthless duplicates in my current collection. But God’s collection of humanity contains no duplicates. Our Savior and Redeemer sacrificed His own life to purchase us out of the brokenness of sin. The Lord on High protects us from the enemy’s attempt to steal our identity. Our Good Shepherd pursues us individually when we go astray and leads us with sovereign safekeeping. I doubt God has a giant shoebox full of “playing cards” of us with a favorite action photo plastered on the front. Rather, in His sovereign omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence, God automatically knows the intricate details of our very existence. After purchasing us through the blood of the cross, He keeps us in “mint” condition. Each of us can rejoice that we are part of God’s valued collection that no old shoebox could ever contain. Years ago, my wife and I were dropping off a present to one of our Pastors during the Christmas season. My wife had convinced me that we should provide a $100 gift card to them (sometimes my generosity needs some nudging). As we left their doorstep after delivering the gift, the Pastor’s wife handed us a small basket of gifts. While unexpected, it felt nice to be appreciated.
Driving away, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Not only had we done a good deed, but we had certainly outgifted them! As my wife explored their small gift basket, she came across a card addressed to us from them. Upon opening it, she found a gift card in the amount of $100! I sheepishly smiled to myself as God exposed the small amount of pride I had harbored. My generosity had been reluctant. My motivation had contained elements of superiority. I still had a lot to learn. This month, Crosshill Christian is focusing on the Fruit of the Spirit of Kindness. At a recent chapel, a fun “Pay it Forward” skit with teachers introduced three general categories of kindness. Being kind to others when they are kind first (a great starting point, though rather easy). Being kind to others spontaneously with no prompting (requires greater intentionality and an exercise of sacrificial love). Choosing to be kind to others when it costs something significant (requires tremendous maturity and faith). God’s kindness toward us is immeasurable. He chose to create us in His own image and send His son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful to His promises. His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance and a lifestyle worthy of His image. Our desire as a Christian community is to allow God’s infinite kindness to invade our hearts and become the consistent source of our actions. God’s kindness comes from a position of strength and power, and that same power can be made perfect in any and all of our weaknesses. My wife continues to be the most generous gift-giver in our house. I continue to grow in my cheerful generosity and deep kindness to others. Fortunately for all of us, God’s design for community provides the opportunity to model our lives after those who arrive quicker at God’s design. Please continue to pray for our campus and our homes this month so that God’s fruit through His Spirit is always in season! |
Adam Kronberger
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