…is by being gracious to others who don’t educate their children the same way you do. This is a way to show humility and the grace of Christ toward others who haven’t reached the same conclusions as you. Having that grace will drain the tension in the air and breathe the love of Christ.
Educational condescension (in the name of ” Biblical conviction”) and shame (resulting from the guilt trips even a condescending look or a tone of voice can cause) are too often found among brothers and sisters in Christ over this issue. Aren’t our relationships and discussions supposed to be saturated with love and humility?
As the pastor of a church with a high percentage of homeschool families, and being a homeschool father myself, I have had a long-held desire for those under my influence to exercise the humility and unity that springs from the grace of the Gospel. I see this as simply a matter of Christian love. And as a matter of obedience to the Biblical commands to strive for unity (e.g. Eph. 4:1-3). Amanda and I have tried hard to model this attitude in ourselves.
If you go to church with people – or otherwise interact regularly with people – who educate their children in a different method than you have chosen (homeschool, private, or public school), then please watch this less -than-seven-minute-long video. Please! I could not have said it better than Josh Harris has done here.
UPDATE: Go here for Josh’s dad’s response to this video.
[HT: Tim Challies] [Josh's post]
Related: Homeschoolers Need Humility
Actually reading Calvin's own words has been a delight. He is surprisingly easy to read, warm, pastoral and sharp-minded. It's always rewarding to actually read the source material!
I'm using this in some marital counseling I'm currently conducting. It is extremely practical, specific, and Gospel-saturated.
May 9, 2008 at 9:58 am |
[...] consider reading this post and watching a short video by Joshua Harris with this [...]