“In fact, life itself is a school.” Thus, the lesson begins and proceeds to demonstrate that the family is our first schoolroom. No child is too young to begin hearing about the goodness of God. Songs and prayers of God’s greatness should begin crib-side and go till graveside.
Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel, along with their wives, are honored with being this world’s first family. How hard it is for us to conceive what it would have been like to have the sum of human history looking across at you at the breakfast table! The Garden of Eden, lush but inaccessible, is still within their view, not to mention an angelic sentinel and his sword of fire. No doubt the awful splendor of these sights inspires endless questions from the young boys. “The Creator God did that?” would have been an answer to strings of why-and-how questions bubbling up from the boys’ curious minds. Adam’s and Eve’s answers would have been based on their eyewitness accounts and personal experience of engagement with this Creator God. They’d have a primitive gospel to share that spoke of a divine Son who would one day be born to crush the head of the serpent, yet not without sacrifice to Himself (Gen. 3:15), in order to bring the human family back to the garden and the way things should be.
A picture of this divine Son’s childhood and education can be loosely constructed from the first chapters of Luke and Matthew. This picture pays a compliment to the value of education as Jesus takes the opportunity to learn from His heavenly Father, and to instruct the priesthood in the temple (Luke 2:41-51).
The lesson highlights communication, the avenue through which education comes. It makes the important point that building relationships is a key component for effective communication and teaching. This idea is further developed below.
Part II: Commentary
We cannot overestimate the influence of family. It literally makes us who we are. Even the teen who rebels against everything his or her family stands for is still being shaped by the family, in this case through antagonism rather than submission. But we always hope that our families will be the locus of an education that prepares us for godliness, emotional and relational stability, intellectual and vocational pursuits, and physical wellbeing. Each one of those topics could lead to information overload; so, the lesson provides a key thought, perhaps too often overlooked, that is important in order for education in all areas to be effective—the necessity of building relationships. The relationship between the educators and the learners, whether they be parents and children or teachers and students, often determines whether effective learning is taking place.
Relationships and Childrearing
Many parents are hopeful that the early indoctrination of their children with Adventist ideals, teachings, and lifestyle will lead them to become faithful Seventh-day Adventists as adults whose commitment to God and the church may motivate them for full-time ministry. However, to many parents’ dismay, not only do their children not remain Seventh-day Adventists into their young adult years, they make no profession of Christianity at all. Their morally unrestrained lifestyle even exceeds that of their peers who had zero Christian upbringing. The parents’ hopes are dashed, and they are left baffled as to what happened and where they went wrong.
So many families sincerely do what they think is right in the rearing of children, only to reap an outcome opposite to their expectations. Of course, there are countless variables that can cause children to reject their Adventist education. But for the sake of Adventist children, let us as parents ask the hard relationship questions about what may have gone wrong.
How frequently do parents and children share matters of the heart with each other? Does the child feel safe to share hopes, fears, and troubles with his or her parents? Do the parents continually seek to affirm where the child is doing well, or does the child only hear criticism when he or she makes a mistake? Are the parents patient as the child stumbles along in learning new activities or responsibilities? Do the parents express empathy toward their children, remembering what it was like to be a child themselves? Do the parents gently guide the children to have a relationship with God? Or do they simply ramrod religious instruction instead? Are the parents secure and adult enough to admit to their children when they make a mistake and to ask for forgiveness? Or do they continually maintain a façade of perfection that the children see through anyway? Have the parents devoted time to give exclusive attention to their children? Do they play with their children? Has respect been cultivated and earned between both parent and child? Do the parents apply discipline in a calm, controlled environment, or impulsively in frustration or anger? Do they communicate words and actions of love and tender care to the child, so that the child knows that they love him or her unconditionally? And the list goes on. . . .
These questions are important. Regardless of how dedicated parents are in inculcating Adventist religious instruction into their children, if the core issues that the above questions address are not interwoven into their parenting philosophy, it all may be for nothing. There are moments when it is time to put down the textbook, take a break from the chores, and, instead, spend quality time with your kids. Invest in the relationship, and the dividends are likely to be an effective education, culminating in a lifelong commitment to Christ and eternal life.
“Both parents and teachers are in danger of commanding and dictating too much, while they fail to come sufficiently into social relation with their children or their scholars. They maintain too great a reserve, and exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which tends to repel instead of winning confidence and affection. If they would oftener gather the children about them, and manifest an interest in their work, and even in their sports, they would gain the love and confidence of the little ones, and the lesson of respect and obedience would be far more readily learned; for love is the best teacher. A similar interest manifested for the youth will secure like results. The young heart is quick to respond to the touch of sympathy.”—Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 58.
Jesus and the Rabbinical School in Jerusalem
The account of the encounter between the preteen Jesus’ and the learned doctors of Jewish law during His Passover visit to Jerusalem is brief but dense. “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46, 47, ESV). So, what makes Jesus the model student? To glean insights into that question, let’s look at the following statement from Ellen G. White: “At that day an apartment connected with the temple was devoted to a sacred school, after the manner of the schools of the prophets. Here leading rabbis with their pupils assembled, and hither the child Jesus came. Seating Himself at the feet of these grave, learned men, He listened to their instruction. As one seeking for wisdom, He questioned these teachers in regard to the prophecies, and to events then taking place that pointed to the advent of the Messiah.
“Jesus presented Himself as one thirsting for a knowledge of God. . . . The doctors turned upon Him with questions, and they were amazed at His answers. With the humility of a child He repeated the words of Scripture, giving them a depth of meaning that the wise men had not conceived of. If followed, the lines of truth He pointed out would have worked a reformation in the religion of the day. A deep interest in spiritual things would have been awakened; and when Jesus began His ministry, many would have been prepared to receive Him.
“The rabbis knew that Jesus had not been instructed in their schools; yet His understanding of the prophecies far exceeded theirs. In this thoughtful Galilean boy they discerned great promise. They desired to gain Him as a student, that He might become a teacher in Israel. They wanted to have charge of His education, feeling that a mind so original must be brought under their molding.
“The words of Jesus had moved their hearts as they had never before been moved by words from human lips. . . . The youthful modesty and grace of Jesus disarmed their prejudices. Unconsciously their minds were opened to the word of God, and the Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 78–80. Every Christian knows that Jesus is the Teacher of teachers, but how often is He known as the student of students?
So, what makes Jesus the model student? He has a curiosity and hunger for knowledge of God that makes Him an attentive listener. He asks questions, showing that He is an active, not just passive, learner. He’s not reluctant to offer answers, either. He shows that He can be vulnerable and put His ideas out on the table for others to judge, criticize, or affirm. This builds the resilience He will need when, as an adult, His words will bring accusations of demon possession (John 8:48) and calls for His death (John 8:40). But for a Boy who has been speaking of God since He was 12 (and probably sooner), He could not be intimidated. Good students always make the best teachers.
Part III: Life Application
Though the family is the first schoolroom, no one is guaranteed that it will be a good one. There may be many things we must unlearn from our families. If we were fortunate, we gleaned a few (or more) good principles worth holding onto for a lifetime. Discuss some of these issues with your Sabbath School class for the purpose of showing how God helps us handle the good and the bad experiences of family life.
What were the negative patterns within your family that you’ve told yourself you will never pass on to your own young family? In what ways did both God and Scripture help you identify those negative patterns? What insights did you gain that taught you to prevent their recurrence?
Identify the ways that God took the hardships of your less-than-ideal family life and brought about a benefit.
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“In fact, life itself is a school.” Thus, the lesson begins and proceeds to demonstrate that the family is our first schoolroom. No child is too young to begin hearing about the goodness of God. Songs and prayers of God’s greatness should begin crib-side and go till graveside.
Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel, along with their wives, are honored with being this world’s first family. How hard it is for us to conceive what it would have been like to have the sum of human history looking across at you at the breakfast table! The Garden of Eden, lush but inaccessible, is still within their view, not to mention an angelic sentinel and his sword of fire. No doubt the awful splendor of these sights inspires endless questions from the young boys. “The Creator God did that?” would have been an answer to strings of why-and-how questions bubbling up from the boys’ curious minds. Adam’s and Eve’s answers would have been based on their eyewitness accounts and personal experience of engagement with this Creator God. They’d have a primitive gospel to share that spoke of a divine Son who would one day be born to crush the head of the serpent, yet not without sacrifice to Himself (Gen. 3:15), in order to bring the human family back to the garden and the way things should be.
A picture of this divine Son’s childhood and education can be loosely constructed from the first chapters of Luke and Matthew. This picture pays a compliment to the value of education as Jesus takes the opportunity to learn from His heavenly Father, and to instruct the priesthood in the temple (Luke 2:41-51).
The lesson highlights communication, the avenue through which education comes. It makes the important point that building relationships is a key component for effective communication and teaching. This idea is further developed below.
Part II: Commentary
We cannot overestimate the influence of family. It literally makes us who we are. Even the teen who rebels against everything his or her family stands for is still being shaped by the family, in this case through antagonism rather than submission. But we always hope that our families will be the locus of an education that prepares us for godliness, emotional and relational stability, intellectual and vocational pursuits, and physical wellbeing. Each one of those topics could lead to information overload; so, the lesson provides a key thought, perhaps too often overlooked, that is important in order for education in all areas to be effective—the necessity of building relationships. The relationship between the educators and the learners, whether they be parents and children or teachers and students, often determines whether effective learning is taking place.
Relationships and Childrearing
Many parents are hopeful that the early indoctrination of their children with Adventist ideals, teachings, and lifestyle will lead them to become faithful Seventh-day Adventists as adults whose commitment to God and the church may motivate them for full-time ministry. However, to many parents’ dismay, not only do their children not remain Seventh-day Adventists into their young adult years, they make no profession of Christianity at all. Their morally unrestrained lifestyle even exceeds that of their peers who had zero Christian upbringing. The parents’ hopes are dashed, and they are left baffled as to what happened and where they went wrong.
So many families sincerely do what they think is right in the rearing of children, only to reap an outcome opposite to their expectations. Of course, there are countless variables that can cause children to reject their Adventist education. But for the sake of Adventist children, let us as parents ask the hard relationship questions about what may have gone wrong.
How frequently do parents and children share matters of the heart with each other? Does the child feel safe to share hopes, fears, and troubles with his or her parents? Do the parents continually seek to affirm where the child is doing well, or does the child only hear criticism when he or she makes a mistake? Are the parents patient as the child stumbles along in learning new activities or responsibilities? Do the parents express empathy toward their children, remembering what it was like to be a child themselves? Do the parents gently guide the children to have a relationship with God? Or do they simply ramrod religious instruction instead? Are the parents secure and adult enough to admit to their children when they make a mistake and to ask for forgiveness? Or do they continually maintain a façade of perfection that the children see through anyway? Have the parents devoted time to give exclusive attention to their children? Do they play with their children? Has respect been cultivated and earned between both parent and child? Do the parents apply discipline in a calm, controlled environment, or impulsively in frustration or anger? Do they communicate words and actions of love and tender care to the child, so that the child knows that they love him or her unconditionally? And the list goes on. . . .
These questions are important. Regardless of how dedicated parents are in inculcating Adventist religious instruction into their children, if the core issues that the above questions address are not interwoven into their parenting philosophy, it all may be for nothing. There are moments when it is time to put down the textbook, take a break from the chores, and, instead, spend quality time with your kids. Invest in the relationship, and the dividends are likely to be an effective education, culminating in a lifelong commitment to Christ and eternal life.
“Both parents and teachers are in danger of commanding and dictating too much, while they fail to come sufficiently into social relation with their children or their scholars. They maintain too great a reserve, and exercise their authority in a cold, unsympathizing manner, which tends to repel instead of winning confidence and affection. If they would oftener gather the children about them, and manifest an interest in their work, and even in their sports, they would gain the love and confidence of the little ones, and the lesson of respect and obedience would be far more readily learned; for love is the best teacher. A similar interest manifested for the youth will secure like results. The young heart is quick to respond to the touch of sympathy.”—Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 58.
Jesus and the Rabbinical School in Jerusalem
The account of the encounter between the preteen Jesus’ and the learned doctors of Jewish law during His Passover visit to Jerusalem is brief but dense. “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46, 47, ESV). So, what makes Jesus the model student? To glean insights into that question, let’s look at the following statement from Ellen G. White: “At that day an apartment connected with the temple was devoted to a sacred school, after the manner of the schools of the prophets. Here leading rabbis with their pupils assembled, and hither the child Jesus came. Seating Himself at the feet of these grave, learned men, He listened to their instruction. As one seeking for wisdom, He questioned these teachers in regard to the prophecies, and to events then taking place that pointed to the advent of the Messiah.
“Jesus presented Himself as one thirsting for a knowledge of God. . . . The doctors turned upon Him with questions, and they were amazed at His answers. With the humility of a child He repeated the words of Scripture, giving them a depth of meaning that the wise men had not conceived of. If followed, the lines of truth He pointed out would have worked a reformation in the religion of the day. A deep interest in spiritual things would have been awakened; and when Jesus began His ministry, many would have been prepared to receive Him.
“The rabbis knew that Jesus had not been instructed in their schools; yet His understanding of the prophecies far exceeded theirs. In this thoughtful Galilean boy they discerned great promise. They desired to gain Him as a student, that He might become a teacher in Israel. They wanted to have charge of His education, feeling that a mind so original must be brought under their molding.
“The words of Jesus had moved their hearts as they had never before been moved by words from human lips. . . . The youthful modesty and grace of Jesus disarmed their prejudices. Unconsciously their minds were opened to the word of God, and the Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 78–80. Every Christian knows that Jesus is the Teacher of teachers, but how often is He known as the student of students?
So, what makes Jesus the model student? He has a curiosity and hunger for knowledge of God that makes Him an attentive listener. He asks questions, showing that He is an active, not just passive, learner. He’s not reluctant to offer answers, either. He shows that He can be vulnerable and put His ideas out on the table for others to judge, criticize, or affirm. This builds the resilience He will need when, as an adult, His words will bring accusations of demon possession (John 8:48) and calls for His death (John 8:40). But for a Boy who has been speaking of God since He was 12 (and probably sooner), He could not be intimidated. Good students always make the best teachers.
Part III: Life Application
Though the family is the first schoolroom, no one is guaranteed that it will be a good one. There may be many things we must unlearn from our families. If we were fortunate, we gleaned a few (or more) good principles worth holding onto for a lifetime. Discuss some of these issues with your Sabbath School class for the purpose of showing how God helps us handle the good and the bad experiences of family life.