I used to start a high school Bible course by setting a glass of water on my desk and asking students to “think biblically” about the water. At first, my request was met with puzzled stares. “What do you mean?” the students would ask. I could count on the answers I would eventually hear: baptism, the crossing of the Jordan, and the parting of the Red Sea. Within a few moments, the thinking would deepen. The students would go on to recognize that the water reminds us of Christ’s cleansing sacrifice, God’s power and His sovereignty. I was so pleased that student responses were filled with such rich biblical imagery and symbolism.
But there was more. I explained that—while these responses were correct—“thinking biblically” about what we study in school also means thinking about the things of this world as Christ would have us think about them. “Thinking biblically” about water—something so simple—means considering that there are millions of people around the world who don’t have a clean source for it. It means asking, “What am I going to do about that?” and “How am I going to apply what I learn—in science and maybe even math, history, and language arts—to become God’s hands and feet?”
This glimpse into Christian education gets to the heart of what we try to do at North Hills Christian School. Chances are that our students may never solve such “grand scale” problems as the one I’ve described (Let’s hope they do!). However, we can rest assured that this school is training and equipping students to consider the questions “What?”(Knowledge) “So what?” (Application) and “Now what?” (Service). I’m thankful that North Hills is a school that does not guide students through the acquisition of knowledge in a vacuum. Instead, we faithfully help our students “think biblically.”
--Matt Mitchell, NHCS Head of School
If I can read 600 words per minute and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, I have not been educated.
If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God’s wisdom, I have not been educated.
If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight but have not read the greatest of all books—the Bible—and have no knowledge of its personal importance, I have not been educated.
If I have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God’s Word in my heart, I have not been educated.
If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe, I have not been educated.
If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker’s purpose for all creation, I have not been educated.
If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country, I have not been educated.
If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have never been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him,I have not been educated.
If I can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God’s will, I have not been educated.
If I can identity a Picasso, describe the style of da Vinci, and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God,I have not been educated.
If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, I have not been educated.
However, if on day I see the world as God sees it, and comes to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me, then, I have been educated.
