We Must Drill Our Minds in Godly Connections

This quote by Oswald Chambers, found in his classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest”, may well be the heart and soul of Christian education. It’s about connections, and chief above all others is one’s connection with the Almighty. Rachael Kessler, writing about this in her book, “The Soul of Education”, describes the yearning for (deep) connections as a chief “gateway” to the soul development of young people. She states that, “Spiritual life is nourished, not through formal rituals that students practice in school, but by the quality of relationship that is developed between person and world”.

There is no indication from her writing of Ms. Kessler’s spiritual orientation, as she is writing from a very holistic perspective of “spirituality” in the classroom that encompasses all religious thought and beyond the scope of mere “religion”. Her point about the quality of relationships speaks volumes to where young people are today, the questions they are asking (or not asking!), and our listening and responding to them.

There is just no getting around it . . . kids are looking for deep relationships and deep connections. While they may not use the word, it seems to me that their lives are focused on finding significance. This search for significance, especially in relationships, is not limited to just with their peers or the “opposite sex”. It is significance in life across the board . . . with self, with others, with community, with their lineage, with the world, and (ultimately) with a “higher power”.

A truly Christian education will seek to nourish in students a Biblical perspective that allows them to “plow through this adolescent mess” so that they can “effectively integrate Biblical truth into their daily lives and impact the culture for Christ”. A truly Christian education will strive to develop an outlook on life that will stress these various relationships and help young people find their significance as a created individual with “Godly connections.” The Apostle Paul, addressing the intellectually elite in Athens, stated that, “In Him (Christ) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

What better environment can we give to our children than one that fosters these deep relationships and connections so that they see life as a whole; created by God in harmony with oneself, with each other, with the various communities of life, and with God’s world? Sadly, all students do not necessarily “see” the significance as they make their way through all this . . . but it is still our God-given responsibility to see that they receive it and are nurtured in it.

I thought it interesting that Oswald Chambers would use Luke 2:52 as a reference point for this particular devotional . . . “and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”. It seems as if even the Son of God, in taking on our humanity, developed those deep connections and relationships as the basis for his own faith and learning process as a child. That is significant.

William F. Stevens
Head of School
Wilmington Christian School