The Word became Flesh

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us... - John 1:14a

I am a big sports fan. I love competition. I love the battle between teams, and the dedication, sacrifice, and teamwork that goes into a successful sports season. Most of my time on the field as a kid was in baseball. My dad was a baseball player, and taught me the beauty of a cognitive game without a clock, that is one-on-one (pitcher vs. batter), while simultaneously team vs. team. I also played basketball, golf, and even a season of soccer in the 6th grade. I wasn't very good at that one, but I could kick pretty far.  

But, in light of that personal draw toward athletics, I must say I HATE the modern phenomenon of instant replay. I am old school to the core. Part of the fun of sports used to be the "can you believe that call!?!" conversations the day after. Now, we spend an extra 30 minutes in every game to review every breath to death just to make sure the call was correct, and eliminate the controversy. I like human umpires and referees overseeing human athletes apart from cameras and computers, even if it is not perfect. The flow of the game was better. The excitement was better. The constant stoppages in today's games just mess it up.  

However, I totally understand the reason we rely on instant replay these days - because it reveals the truth. Did the guy really catch the ball? Let's check the replay. Was his foot on the line? Let's go to the review booth. Did he beat the throw to 1st base? We need to take a look because we want to know the truth, or it will negatively affect the bigger outcome. Hopefully, that is the same attitude we all have in life. What is the truth? How do I find it? Who ultimately has the authority to declare what is true?  

This is all the more important in today's crazy world of emotionalism, political correctness, and media sensationalism. We are inundated with everyone's opinions on everything. For those of us who are the pre-internet generation (graduated high school before 1995), we can cope with today's world, because we grew up in a time when we were influenced by only a few dozen people (parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors, friends), and still hold those simple values. No one else's opinions really mattered. But, for those who came along afterward, every day of life is filled with thousands of opinions on hundreds of topics. We no longer ask key life questions to our mentors and friends; instead, we "Google" them (and tend to believe whatever pops out of that search, regardless of who wrote it). This is our children's world.

So, truth is at stake more today than it has ever been, and is watered down at times beyond recognition. How do we know what we are reading is true? How do we know what we are feeling is true? How do we know what we are seeing is true? (There used to be a saying, "seeing is believing", but with Photoshop, virtual reality, and other altering technologies, you just never know anymore).

In John 17:17, Jesus was praying for His disciples, as well as for all those who would be born after his crucifixion, when He said, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." To sanctify means to grow in the knowledge and image of God - To become more like Him. When Jesus spoke these words, He was literally saying that to become more like God, we need to have access to the truth. Then, He immediately identifies the source of that truth - The Word. A Robinson Version paraphrase of this verse might read something like this: "Lord, make these people more and more like you each day by reinforcing in them the truths found in your Word." This would be very similar to the overall vision HCA has for its students on campus.

So, assuming that Christians reading this blog believe that Jesus speaks absolute truths, we can bank on the fact that God's Word is truth, and can be relied upon for our daily and eternal direction. In the first verse of scripture, we see that "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." God's first recorded words are found in Genesis 1:3, "Let there be light". God is the only one who can make light out of darkness. This is deeper than just physical lights, like the sun and moon. It also refers to intellectual and spiritual light - the revealing of absolute truth to a dark, confused, lost world. This is why Jesus is referred to as the Light of the World. He didn't just make the sun shine brighter. He illuminated our minds and souls to the truth.  

In those first few verses of the Bible, we see all of creation come into being through words. God spoke light into existence. He spoke the earth, sky, water, plants, birds, and animals into being. Then, he spoke mankind out of the dust of the earth into His image bearers. The words of God were all that existed, and all that was needed.  

Later, in the first chapter of John, we see it all come together in verses one and fourteen. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." The Word of God that spoke into existence all life, embodied all truth, and existed from the beginning was born in a feeding trough in Bethlehem around 2000 years ago, and walked the earth just as you and I. To quote the familiar song:

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb?
That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am?

The truth is simply this: God created the heavens and the earth by speaking them into existence, and then entered the world in the flesh to become the only source of truth for mankind, meaning He is the only hope we have. Everything else is a smokescreen and a distraction, pointing us in other directions. So, as we watch the evening news, and hear about the political circus, the vying for attention and power, and the emotional breakdown of our culture, the simple story of a virgin holding her divine infant under the celebratory watch of angels, shepherds and wise men is indeed cause for joy. A baby born to die for our sins, when we could not save ourselves is Good News of Great Joy for all mankind. 

How do I know this is truth? Let's watch the replay again for the 2000th time. 

"For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas!

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Each summer for the past 19 years, I have asked the Lord to provide a focal verse for HCA for that school year.  This simple concept has become something that our faculty now annually waits on with eager anticipation.  By the time the calendar turns to July, the questions always begin..."Do we have our verse yet?  I want to include it in my lessons and correspondence with my students."  I love the enthusiasm for placing scripture in a prominent place at school, and for having a spiritual anchor to our daily routines of planning, grading, meeting, disciplining, mentoring, etc. 

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Following that example, HCA chooses to put the Word at the beginning of each year and each day.  As we read that verse, we quickly see that the "Word" is not simply a word, but a person.  A divine person.  He was with God and was God.  The fact that God's Word is not only a spoken narrative, but the embodiment of our Savior is paramount in our Christian walk.  It would be easy to assume that God is difficult for us to reach because He is God, and we are sinful us.  But, when Jesus became the living Word, it was no longer impossible for us to reach God because He had already reached us through His life, death, resurrection, and through the truth of His Word, gracefully placed in the hands of each of His children, now in the form of our Bibles. 

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

In the depravity of our flesh, it is critical that we have grace, rescue, accountability, and direction.  The Word provides those things.  And unlike other ancient documents that need to be dug up, dusted off, and placed in the context of time, our Word is "living and active".  The truth of scripture is the same today as it was 2000 years ago, continuing to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  Apart from it, we can do nothing (John 15:5)

Transferring to the present day, as we blankly stare at the ridiculousness of the newscasts about our politics and modern culture, as believers we must stay anchored to the truth of the Word.  That is essentially why we do the verse of the year each year.  The assault on "words" in our culture is immense.  Just think about it.  15 years ago, the definition of certain words was obvious and not up for debate.  Words like male, female, marriage, family, love, life, God....These were no-brainers.  Everyone knew what they meant, and they were not up for debate.  Just a few years later, no one agrees on the definition of any of these words.

Individual words are now up for debate because THE WORD has been devalued and forgotten.  But, regardless of what direction society may choose to go, the truth of scripture is still living and active.  The standards and truths within have not changed, nor will they ever change.  Hebrews 13:8 tells us that The Word, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." 

In our verse of the year, John 14:6, we hear Jesus say about Himself, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."  The real question for all of us is simply whether we believe scripture is really God's spoken word.  This is a YES or NO question, without any valid in-between options.  If we believe some of it is true, but not all of it, then we relegate the Bible to the hands of so-called "experts" who will tell us which portions we should trust.  I'm sure that most who are reading this would agree that scripture is true, but do we really live that out?  Or do we try to blend our faith with the world's cultural trends?

If Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father (and to heaven), and if His words are the ONLY source of truth, and if He is our ONLY path to life (abundant life on earth and eternal life beyond), then why would we pay attention to anything else?  Yet, like me, I am sure you all find yourselves caught in this crazy time of angry, entitled, confused people wondering what in the world is going on, and how we ever got here.  Of course, the answer to that is in the Word. 

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.  -  Romans 1:28-32

So, let me tell you what HCA offers to our community.  As a Classical Christian School, we are committed to the training of the whole child; body, mind, soul, and spirit.  The people of the culture described in the passage above will tell you that all our woes will be solved through the mechanics of education.  They will tell you that SAT scores and AP classes and college acceptances are the way to success for your children.  And they will tell you that through the secular education they have created, your child will be enlightened to understand what all those ambiguous definitions really mean.  We agree that the training of the mind is critical, and I believe we do that as well as anyone here at HCA.  But the most important question to ask yourself is "WHO is training the mind of my children?"  Is it the world of people described in Romans chapter one? 

Scripture makes it clear that the training up of children is first and foremost the job of the parents of those children.  Unofficially, 80% of what your child ends up believing is on the shoulders of mom and dad.  But, who controls that other 20% is a question we should not take lightly.  HCA is not perfect, and is made up of very imperfect people who have our own sets of struggles each day.  But, what HCA does have is people who believe that God is God, truth is truth, and grace is abundant through Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. 

While the majority of the world now trains children, based on our feelings and their feelings, and what we perceive to be right and wrong in our minds, HCA will continue to base every bit of our training on the Holy Bible. 

19th century writer and art critic John Ruskin wrote,
The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but to enjoy the right things - not merely industrious, but to love industry - not merely learned, but to love knowledge - not merely pure, to to love purity - not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.

As was noted Megan Best's article in the last edition of the Classical Difference magazine, Ruskin's idea of true education implies the existence of a false education.  False education only teaches students "how to get through" the academic disciplines (simply to pass the quiz on Friday each week), and fails to mention that there is an opportunity to love the disciplines themselves.  True education, or classical Christian education, stretches students' imaginations beyond immediate results and stirs a sense of wonder that endures eternally. 

We latch onto Jesus' words with regard to Him being the way because core evangelical teaching tells us that Jesus is the only way to heaven each Sunday.  We resonate with Him being the truth, because, again, if He is the word, and the word is truth, then He is truth.  But, sometimes assigning THE LIFE to Jesus is ambiguous.  What exactly does He mean by that?  I think it is partially answered in the Ruskin quote.  When we get past the basic requirement of obedience of scriptural truths, and begin to LOVE being obedient to scriptural truths, we begin to live the life that Jesus calls "abundant". 

Hickory Christian Academy is more than the safe place from the world to drop off your kids each morning.  It is a place where the authority of the parent is honored, and the truth of scripture is treasured, and the image of God upon each individual is recognized and fostered.  When we train up children to be intelligent thinkers and communicators (not just memorizers), and couple that with an understanding of the Savior who shows them the only way to truth and life, we produce young adults who are ready to stand firm in a hostile world.  While we admit we are not perfect, and often stumble in our own flesh along the way, I hope that this is the overarching theme you see for your family this school year, and that you find comfort in knowing that we are partnering alongside of you in fighting the assault on truth in the lives of our children each day. 

They are precious in the sight of God, and are capable of so much more than the sorry standards this world has to offer them!

May God bless you in your journey.  One quarter down...let us know if you need anything.