“If you have desired to know Him and love Him, you have already done what was expected of you, and it is much better to desire God without being able to think clearly of Him, than to have marvelous thoughts about Him without desiring to enter into union with His will.” -- Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation.
I have a lot of education. It’s funny, even after graduating with a doctorate in ministry, I still think about educational opportunities. I have a serious commitment to lifetime learning. However, when I read the above quote it reminds me, and from a seriously learned Merton, far more educated than the vast majority of people, including me, that education is only part of the picture. You can’t educate yourself into the Kingdom.
My children are either already in college or making plans for college. I encourage them to think ahead and plan ahead and consider the choices they want to make as they move forward in their education because these choices have long-term consequences. It sometimes seems unfair that as a society we force such momentous decisions on young people whose brains aren’t even fully formed, yet. But, that’s our system. Anyway, I wonder if I don’t sometimes put too much emphasis on education. There’s nothing quite like a highly educated fool (Prov. 12:15).
Methodists have a rich history of emphasizing education. Some of the finest educational institutions in the U.S. were founded by and funded by Methodists (think Vanderbilt, Emory, & Duke). I believe it was Charles Wesley who said, “Unite the pair so long disjoined: knowledge and vital piety.” The problem might be that we’ve left off the vital piety part of the equation.
What do you desire? A rich income? A prominent place in the community? A big house with lots of stuff? What are the desires that are being fed with our no-holds-barred pursuit of education? I think we have a desire problem. I want my children to desire God over all other things. I want them to desire to know him and love him, to know his love and experience his will. I want them to know who they truly are, that they are more than their diplomas and job titles and net worth. I want them to know they are children of God, gifted by him to be able to join him in his desire to see the world transformed by his Kingship. This is the happy life at which everything in life is aimed. Our desires need to be refocussed and renewed so we can experience the abundant life God desires for us.
I have a lot of education. It’s funny, even after graduating with a doctorate in ministry, I still think about educational opportunities. I have a serious commitment to lifetime learning. However, when I read the above quote it reminds me, and from a seriously learned Merton, far more educated than the vast majority of people, including me, that education is only part of the picture. You can’t educate yourself into the Kingdom.
My children are either already in college or making plans for college. I encourage them to think ahead and plan ahead and consider the choices they want to make as they move forward in their education because these choices have long-term consequences. It sometimes seems unfair that as a society we force such momentous decisions on young people whose brains aren’t even fully formed, yet. But, that’s our system. Anyway, I wonder if I don’t sometimes put too much emphasis on education. There’s nothing quite like a highly educated fool (Prov. 12:15).
Methodists have a rich history of emphasizing education. Some of the finest educational institutions in the U.S. were founded by and funded by Methodists (think Vanderbilt, Emory, & Duke). I believe it was Charles Wesley who said, “Unite the pair so long disjoined: knowledge and vital piety.” The problem might be that we’ve left off the vital piety part of the equation.
What do you desire? A rich income? A prominent place in the community? A big house with lots of stuff? What are the desires that are being fed with our no-holds-barred pursuit of education? I think we have a desire problem. I want my children to desire God over all other things. I want them to desire to know him and love him, to know his love and experience his will. I want them to know who they truly are, that they are more than their diplomas and job titles and net worth. I want them to know they are children of God, gifted by him to be able to join him in his desire to see the world transformed by his Kingship. This is the happy life at which everything in life is aimed. Our desires need to be refocussed and renewed so we can experience the abundant life God desires for us.
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