Dear Cornerstone Family,
Is that a school bell I hear? Indeed, it is! Summer break has drawn (or is quickly drawing) to a close. It’s time to sharpen your pencils and your mind. Ready or not, a new school year is upon us!
Though it’s always bittersweet to see summer go, I love new beginnings. It’s an opportunity to stop and assess things. To see what worked and what didn’t in the previous season. To reprioritize and make adjustments in hopes to see more health and growth in the coming season.
Not long ago I was speaking at a teacher in service training. After giving a snapshot of our current educational landscape in light of historical definitions of education, I asked the question, “How can you help instill in your students a love for what is good, right, and true?”
Some responded, “Well, God must do it.” That is right. But it’s right in exactly the way the farmer is right when he says, “How am I going to get a harvest this year? God is going to have to give the growth.” In saying that, the farmer does not mean there’s nothing he’s responsible to do. The farmer knows that God uses means to bring forth that growth.
In other words, God bringing forth the growth is no excuse for the farmer to sit on his front porch and drink sweet tea. He must work. He must plant. He must water, fertilize, and weed. He must labor by the sweat of his brow in order to create conditions favorable for growth.
Growth in the Christian life works the same way. The Scriptures speak of our heart as a field teeming with potential for growth (Matthew 13:1-23). This fall, something will grow in your heart and life; that’s inevitable. The question is: what will it be, and will it last? Will thorns and thistles flourish, or will it be the seed of the gospel bearing the fruit of the Spirit?
Parents, consider the field of your home. Are you spreading the seed of the gospel and turning it over into the hearts of your children? Are you praying with and for your children, modeling the love of Christ, living lives of repentance? Grandparents, how can your unique role be used for the cultivation of godliness in the lives of your grandchildren? Are you a college student? How could you set a tone with your speech and conduct that will aid the growth in grace of your classmates?
Teachers, we are especially thinking and praying for you. It is a beautiful calling the Lord has given you. But it’s a hard calling, too. It’s easy to grow weary in doing good. Despite how it may appear at times, God is at work through your efforts. Be an ambassador for Christ in the lives of your students. Work hard at cultivating conditions favorable for growth, and then rest—trusting God for the growth that only He can give (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).
Your servant,
