Theme: Christian Education as a Matter of Survival
2 Peter 1:1-9: Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. (ESV)
Some of you may have seen the move Everest from 2015 or read the book which predated it. The tale chronicles the 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest when a team of climbers suffered adverse conditions, and many got stuck on the mountain. In all, 8 climbers lost their lives. The movie describes how one of the biggest elements to the ordeal was the loss of supplemental oxygen for the climbers who were descending from the peak. For one group, the oxygen tanks which they stashed for the return trip were only partially full. For others, the tanks froze over and could not be accessed at higher altitudes. No one knows for sure who was responsible for the issues that ensued, but the mistake surely played a major role in the disaster.
Climbing to the top of Mt. Everest is clearly dangerous. One could fairly compare it to a survival situation, especially when problems develop. You probably can think of other well-known survival stories that come to mind. Some end well, some don’t. But one thing that all survival stories share is the need for adequate provisions. In the case of climbing Everest, a person needs the right gear – jacket, snow pants, gloves, rope, ice axe, and of course, oxygen. A mistake in any one of these provisions can prove deadly.
In the middle of our text for today, Peter speaks of supplementing our daily walk of faith with certain provisions. The scene that Peter depicts is hardly one of survival, yet we know that faith in Jesus is a matter of life and death. Likewise, the domains of Christian education – church, home, and school, hardly appear to be realms of survival. Yet, when we consider the hostile war that sin wages in our hearts, we clearly see that they really are.
To help us along the way, God provides gifts that supplement our faith. They strengthen and encourage it. The protect it against danger. They help us survive until we reach heaven. Peter tells us in verses 1-4 where these gifts come from – the gospel of Jesus Christ - what Jesus did for us in His grace and mercy. Verse 4 reads, by which Jesus has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Because we have Jesus to rely on, we can have confidence that God will supplement our faith with these provisions, and that they will stand the test of helping us get through this life on our way to heaven.
What does this have to do with Christian Education? Well, this is the forum through which we use these provisions and share them with others. As we point out often, Christian education involves far more than just our school here at Redemption. We may see our school as the natural face of education here, which fits. It’s also true that the Bible gives special priority to training children in God’s truth, and the school operates primarily to fulfill this mission in our midst.
Yet, Christian education must take place in many other forums of life as well. Parents need to be active in instructing and reinforcing the Word of God at home. Without parents on board, pastors and teachers will accomplish very little, and whatever is taught at church or school will quickly be undone. Children need to assume responsibility as they grow and mature. We speak of Confirmation age as the time when children take ownership of their faith and confession. This is a high and important calling. And adults need to take their own faith seriously. This is perhaps the hardest area of Christian education because it’s a matter of personal responsibility. Children are led to the Word by their parents. But adults must make that choice for themselves and appreciate the importance of continuing to study the Word and grow in these areas.
It’s well documented by both experience and data, that the early periods of adulthood are the most vulnerable to one’s faith. The need is there to take responsibility in making time for God’s Word, much like taking provisions on a survival expedition;, but far too often young adults feel impervious and invincible to spiritual dangers. This attitude is akin to scaling Mt. Everest without respecting the danger. Don’t do it! Don’t succumb to this thinking! Take time to encourage fellow Christians who are in danger! We need to approach our faith like it’s a matter of survival, because it is.
In order to appreciate Christian education, we need to look beyond the classroom or the Sunday School room. Consider the provisions that God lists through Peter:
• Virtue: “moral excellence” (contrast: self-expression)
• Knowledge: not only to know information, but to use it wisely (contrast: making decisions based on personal feeling)
• Self-control: to exercise complete control over one's desires and actions (contrast: desire and lust)
• Perseverance: capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances. (contrast: impatience and unfaithfulness) attention spans
• Godliness: appropriate beliefs and expression related to God (contrast: worldliness, idolatry)
• Brotherly kindness: Affection for fellow believers (contrast: anger, disregarding the importance of church)
• Love: self-sacrificial care that models Christ (contrast: hate, or any product of unbelief)
Look at the world around us. Where do we see a lack of these provisions? It’s typically in adults, not children. And when children suffer in these areas, it’s usually by association to an adult in their lives. How many of these provisions are cherished in the world today? You might think that most are, but ponder the opposite for a moment and that may give you a different outcome. [go through list again].
Just within the last year, we have seen a monumental rise in hate, anger, self-expression, worldliness and impatience. Idolatry and unfaithfulness have been around for a long time, and continue to grow in popularity. Listen to the news or look online, and it seems like people have forgotten how to speak respectfully and kindly to one another. Cities in our nation are occupied by mobs and riots. Businesses are torched and looted. The poor continue to be forsaken in the wake of greed. Stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues are skyrocketing. If an image could be given to describe our world it would be an exhausted, weary, and near-to-death wanderer in the wilderness.
These are life-giving promises from God, just as Peter writes. We need this reminder that God supplements our faith – for our survival, and He does this through our gracious Savior Jesus. The chief of all gifts that Christ extends is forgiveness to sinners – what He described as the water of life and the bread of life. This is exactly what weary travelers need, but God tells us He offers even more. Virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. These are not old, traditional, hokey Christian concepts – they are necessary provisions for survival.
If you’re wondering why Christian educaiton is important – look around you in the world. Turn on the news. Read the paper. Peruse your outlet of choice on the internet. We are desperate people – all of us. We are struggling to survive. And God gives us the greatest gifts imaginable – for free. Let’s use them. Let’s teach children about science, math, language, social studies, history, AND God in our Christian day school. Let’s make use of Bible studies at church and gathering regularly for Word and Sacrament. Let’s make those things a priority in our lives – putting them at the top of the list. If distractions come our way, let us move those things aside in favor of God, instead of always moving God aside in favor of them. Let us keep the light of the Word burning brightly in our homes. Let us live that Word by thought, voice, and action. Let us be role models for children – especially our children.
We talk about Christian education in school, church, and home. But I’d propose a fourth arena – society. These provisions exist there too. It may be more challenging in a pluralistic culture to share the Christian faith – but it’s not impossible. It we see hurt and divisiveness in the world, why not offer the “one thing needed” according to the Savior Himself? Maybe the lack of these supplements in our world has something to do with the unwillingness of Christians like us to express them in our lives and to share them with our neighbors. Should we be surprised to see the world spiraling into chaos when cynicism, skepticism, and unbelief of God’s Word predominate?
The world around us may seem worse off than ever before. We may begrudge the year 2020 on several levels. But it’s never within our faith to despair because God always sustains us. We each know the peril and struggle. We have faced sin of our own just as much as the most unholy person who can imagine. There is only one hope for survival - May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
Christian education is our high and holy privilege to use God’s truth and to share it with the world. At a time when people are desperate for meaning and hope, let us do that with joy and faithfulness.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment