“Preparing a Highway For Our God”
My wife and I recently had a nostalgic moment while driving to upstate New York to visit our daughter and new granddaughter. We are from that area and were traveling along the “highways & byways” we had known for over twenty years. It fostered much discussion about all the memories we had made, traveling these roads. We waxed philosophical about how these old highways were part of God’s way of preparing us, our family & friends, our ministry, and our own faith as a heritage of His work in our lives. It was weird how journeying along those roads caused us to recall our personal journey . . .
It brought to mind the words of the prophet Isaiah, “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness . . . it will be for those who walk in that way”. While this speaks of a highway, it is not a literal road traveled. In fact it may be the “road less traveled” these days! This road is the way that God laid out before his people all throughout the Old Testament ~ “This is the way, walk in it”. It’s the same highway that John the Baptist had come to travel and prepare the way ahead. It’s the same road that led to the advent of Christ . . . and leads us still.
Today, we do travel that same highway and, in the perspective of HIGHER LEARNING, are preparing the children of the next generation for Christ’s second advent. This “Way of Holiness” is the avenue of discipleship which prepares young hearts for learning and living their faith into the next generation. Fools and the unclean will not walk there, only the redeemed.
I’m convinced that a Christian school education is an integral stretch of that highway of preparation. We can no longer think that the “rest stops” of youth activities alone is enough to guide our young people along life’s pathway. They are at best, supplemental and should be. We also seem preoccupied, even obsessed, with a certain emphasis that scholastic and interscholastic achievement are more important in the preparation for our children’s future(?). This is not to say that these are not important, they are truly important, and, sad to say in some Christian schools, are found lacking! But they can also become “voices” calling us to the right and to the left as distractions to God’s real purpose. It’s the Voice behind us, the voice of the Lord, calling us to keep to the ancient path, the path that leads to understanding, peace, life, and true living (Prov 21:6, Luke 1:79, Psalm 16:11, I Timothy 6:19).
I believe this because I believe God’s Word is true. I believe this because I’ve experienced it in my own life, and I believe this because I have seen it in my 30 years of walking this same highway. I know, I know, it all sounds so metaphorical . . . “highway of God”, “walking the life”, “staying on the path”. But just like Christ’s parables, these are heavenly descriptions of practical living. I view Christian education is part of the same work as John the Baptist, one of preparation. We in the Christian school movement are preparing the next generation of the Church and the Christian family to (and I emphasize like Aerosmith) “walk this way”.
So, during this Advent Season, even in our holiday travels, as we reflect upon the celebration of the Word made flesh, may we be reminded of the road we have been called to walk along, reminiscing of God’s direction and provision along the way, and recommitting our efforts and resources to prepare our young people to continue the journey after us. In so doing, they prepare the next generation with that same biblical perspective that whatever we learn, it is for the Kingdom at the end of the highway . . .
Merry Christmas and Happy Trails,
One Response to ““Preparing a Highway For Our God””
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Bill,
Thank you for the insightful thoughts on one of my favorite passages in Isaiah. Often we long for a “smooth” paved way in this life, but many times our road is filled with turns, twists and bumps.
Helping young people discover and know that in their highway of life, they can have a deep faith and assurance that God is right there with them, well that alone is worth the price of a Christian School Education!