The Real Purpose of Education Is Action
At the end of those sessions, before we dismiss to the classes, everyone together recites the same line week after week. The purpose of education is to know God and make Him known.
Begin with what is true
At the end of those sessions, before we dismiss to the classes, everyone together recites the same line week after week. The purpose of education is to know God and make Him known.
I have come to love that phrase, to appreciate it, and to find application for it in my life, in every different level and type of education.
See God more clearly
It wasn't just the purpose of education is to know God, it is also to make God known. He said, I want you preaching there at Ephesus, teaching Bible classes, challenging people to read the scriptures daily.
Not just so they will have a deeper understanding of God, but so they will know how to answer false arguments, stand for the truth, convert people to Christ, be evangelistic.
Let faith shape the response
And when I say that, you might not think that there's anything godly about it, but listen to the rules of Harvard, written originally in 1636, let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. Now, over a century after that, a century, the State Constitution of Massachusetts reiterated that and said something to this effect.
He goes on to talk about other schools, like the College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, and includes a charter which states that the youth of Virginia should be well educated to learning and good morals, and that the churches of America, especially Virginia, should be supplied with good ministers, and that the Indians of America should be instructed in the Christian religion, that our students may be sent out to preach the gospel to their countrymen in their own tongue.
Live it today
Well, I've got some serious computer mathematician techie engineering guys that would say, actually, there's a ton of stuff you're learning there that teaches you concepts about God and rules and patterns. But also, if the things you learn help you have conversations about God, if they help you serve other people, let's just boil it down to that.
If you can't make any other connections with what we're saying today, maybe your kids aren't in school or the things you're learning and studying just don't seem to have anything to do with faith, I'm here to tell you everything you learn has to do with faith.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where does the central idea of “The Real Purpose of Education Is Action” show up most clearly in my life right now?
- 02What does this episode call me to believe, stop, start, or handle differently?
- 03What is one specific action I can take today instead of merely agreeing with the idea?
Listen to the original episode
This article was adapted from Episode 77 · Purpose of Education. Continue with the podcast for the original teaching in Kris’s voice.
Explore books by Kris Emerson
Go beyond a single article with Christ-centered books and daily resources designed for Scripture, spiritual growth, and practical discipleship.