Please write a 2-3 paragraphs devotional on the following:

This article (Brummelen, 2009, p. 13-14) will give a clear picture of the God’s vision for education to you who not only practice education in any way, but also receive education from a Master program.

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Learning and teaching must take place in humble dependence on God: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). The Christian’s starting point is that “the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 14:27) as well as the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7). The latter verse adds that all who follow God’s precepts have good understanding. Conversely, if we allow God to give us understanding, we will be able to keep His law and obey it with all our heart (Psalm 119:34).

A major aim of Christian teaching and learning is to discover God’s laws and apply them in obedient response to God. That may involve using the laws of gravity and wind resistance in building a model airplane. It may mean applying the laws of language creatively in composing a story. Students may investigate how God’s laws of justice and righteousness apply to economic life, or what God’s law of love and faithfulness implies for personal relationships and for marriage. The key point is that teaching and learning points to God as the Creator and Sustainer of all of reality, including the norms of human life (Job 38-41, Proverbs 3:19-20).

As the sample Christian school mission statement implies, the overall aim of Christian education is to help and guide students be and become responsible and responsive disciples of Jesus Christ. Disciples are followers who grasp the vision of their leader and then apply that vision in their everyday lives. Becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, therefore, involves understanding and committing oneself to Christ an Christ’s vision of God’s kingdom. Disciples who are responsible begin to carry out the mandate of the kingdom in their lives. For instance, they begin to live as peacemakers and agents of reconciliation. They love the disadvantaged and look for ways to help them. They take joy in practicing moral purity. They eschew love of material possessions and oppose societal structures that exploit. Disciples use their God-given authority to serve others in humility, and they maximize their God-given abilities to serve Him and other people (Mathew 5:8-9, 44; 19:21; 20:1-16, 26-28; 21:12-13; 23:8-12; 25:14-30; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21). In short, disciples learn to walk with God both in their personal lives and in their societal callings.

Ours society is selfishly individualistic and ethically relativistic. In that context, responsive discipleship is a radical challenge! It takes a life of personal faith in Christ. It calls for a willingness to build Christian relationships in the community. And it needs pertinent insights, abilities, and dispositions that enable our students to participate in and influence our culture in a God-glorifying way.

Christian schooling intends that students become committed to Christ and to a Christian way of life, willing to serve God and their neighbors. There are at least three parts to this general aim. First, students learn to unfold the basis, framework, and implications of a Christian vision of life. Second, they learn about God’s world and how humans have responded to God’s mandate to take care of the earth. Third, they develop and responsibly apply the concepts, abilities, values, and creative gifts that enable them to contribute positively to God’s kingdom and to society.

Note that these aims include but go well beyond what people often think of as the “basics.” Students’ fundamental commitments-how they interact with others, what values they put into practice, and how they are disposed to use their God-given abilities-deeply affect the purpose and meaning of their lives. Whether intentionally or not, school do much more than teach basics. Therefore, we need to consider carefully the aims and related outcomes of schooling.

Brummelen, H. V. (2009). Walking with God in the classroom: Christina approaches to teaching and learning (3rd ed.). Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.