What do we want our students to become? Reading the Christmas account in Scripture, I saw a clear answer to that question in a description of John the Baptist. In Luke 1:14-15, an angel tells Zacharias about his future son: “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.”
This is what we want our students to become: great in the sight of the Lord. Not great in the sight of peers. That would be fine. Not great in the sight of certain institutions. That would be nice. Not great in the sight of the general public. That would be good. But there is a bigger, better, higher goal: great in the sight of the Lord. This means that our schools must be invested in discipleship.
If this is the goal, we should be able to examine all of our activities, processes, and expectations to see if they assist in helping the students reach the goal. Now, I am not saying that academic elements are unimportant. Schools have an academic responsibility and exist for academic reasons. But Christian schools exist for academic discipleship. This must be our focus, our obsession, our singular aim. Therefore, I think it is wise to ask: Is [this activity/process/expectation] accomplishing a discipleship aim?
Again, I am not saying our schools must be Sunday Schools. I am saying that our schools must be Christian schools.
Let’s get back to the angel’s description of John: “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.” What made John a joy to his parents? What made his birthday a joyous time for many? Well, it wasn’t his style or diet. His prophet-uniform and crunchy proteins were not mainstream. It wasn’t his circle of friends. He seemed to grow up to be somewhat isolated. It wasn’t the fact that he was loved by all. Religious people didn’t like him and a powerful politician jailed and killed him. John was a joy to his parents and to others because he was great in the sight of the Lord.
What kind of greatness are we teaching? Standardized test scores matter. Social skills matter. Influence can be meaningful. Skills are crucial. And the list could go on and on. But we know what we are after. We want our kids to be great in the sight of God. That is all that really matters. That is the end-all-be-all. And joy flows from that.
So let’s check our practices. Let’s check our goals. Let’s check our motivations. And let’s adjust, refresh, and retune so that, when we return from Christmas Break, we are even more prepared to help our students grow in informed godliness. We want them to be great in the sight of the Lord.