Practical insights into education
Paul C. Collins, M.Div., Th.D.
Stop! Don’t stop reading! Please! I am about to write something regarding education --- and education is vitally important (life-giving information). Are you ready for the next paragraph? If so, here we go.
Your education began before you were conceived. Your parents had certain things encoded in their DNA and that information was destined to pass on to you when they participated in partnership with your Creator to begin your education.
Next, you cooperated with your design and the DESIGNER by following the implanted instructions. In due time, you entered this visible world as a baby already programmed to seek food, stay dry, and appreciate warmth. Need I go on? I think you have the general idea about your beginning education.
Survival “on the outside” requires an ability to know what is needed, be adept at seeking solutions, and persevering until the mission is accomplished. Some refer to this as the survival of the fittest. At the very least, it is the survival of the fit.
When the reality of an organized social order begins to be evident, you need to develop certain tools to continue to be a participant. That’s when reading, writing, and arithmetic must be learned. After a few years, some individuals decide to develop more tools to earn the money to exist higher on the social ladder. For some the process continues into what is referred to as higher education.
So, we have just taken a short tour of the journey to “What You Know” and we are ready to consider “Who You Know.”
The title of this essay is “What You Know And Who You Know.” Thus, it is apropos to direct our attention toward “Who.” The word “Who” denotes a person, but I submit to you it does not refer to your parents, siblings, friends, or schoolteachers. In this usage it is a reference to the ultimate person. It is a reference to God who is Creator, Redeemer, and Counselor (Comforter, Teacher). If your education does not progress beyond “What” to “Who,” it is woefully incomplete and inadequate! So, how does one initiate the search for a relationship with God?
The basic theology (knowledge of God) I received early in my seminary career was very simple: I can know God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. In the simplest terms I know how to use, this means learn what Jesus the Christ taught, ask the Holy Spirit for clarification, and focus attention on God. When we know what Jesus taught, we will develop the mind of Christ and begin to think like God! Thinking like God means to have every thought brought under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Want more information about “What You Know And Who You Know?” Want more information about “Knowing God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit?” Want more information about knowing what Jesus taught to have the mind of Christ and think like God? If you answer any of these three questions in the affirmative, you are a candidate for more education.
You can contact me through this website. I will personally receive your email, and I will personally answer your query. Maybe, just maybe, we will connect for education and edification.
