Homeschooling is Discipleship

Part II

By Gary L. Cox

The disciple is not above [his] master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. (Matt 10:24-25a) When you read this verse, remember that God has woven some incredible things into your family. He has woven your home from your own fabric. Your children will reflect you. Children reflect their parents in incredible ways. This arises from the God-given bonding between parent and child and the shared heritage of parents and children both genetically and experientially. I noticed this personally when our firstborn son was born.

My Testimony

     At 22 years I was a recent convert to Christ. I had great spiritual ambitions to serve the Lord. My first “ministry” was teaching at a Christian school. I had great zeal for God, adequate training and a well defined school curriculum to offer. I felt that I had a lot to offer parents who would trust their children to me…And then, my son was born.

     I quickly realized that my greatest offerings to someone else’s child could not be compared to the loving devotion placed inside me as a parent for my own child. I could not escape the constant presence of care and love for my son in my heart at all times. It was then that I began to discover the incredible design that God has woven into the fabric of family. God has given parents an affection and bonding for their own children that is so special and unique, so powerful and incredible that there is no comparison outside the home to a parent’s influence. Para-home ministries are second rate at best.

     Your child is designed to prosper in your home and experience how to trust and wait on God to meet his/her needs. Your home is the most incredible part of God’s discipleship program for your child. Home is where the jewels are found, where God’s blessings flow by design. Not because you have a perfect home, but because God uses every element of your weak and ordinary family for good.

     At the early stages of raising a family, my dad had a vision. His vision was to bring his children to the office to spend a day at work with him. Before my turn came, my dad’s job changed and he never again could take us. I never got to see my father at his place of work! Oh! how I wanted to go see what Daddy did! However, I was never satisfied. All my childhood I longed to see what Daddy did and where he did it.

     Nevertheless, as the years sped on, I have amazingly reflected my father’s gifts and skill in the work I have been privileged to do.  I went to my dad’s retirement party and heard him speak, I was surprised beyond belief because what I saw and heard seemed to be a copy of me.  How he learned to “mimic me” I have no idea. It was an incredible experience and my spirit had to praise God. I said, “Thank you God, I received an inheritance from my dad even though it was never directly given to me.”  God placed my dad’s thumbprint on me, and my life ministry skills are a heritage of my dad. This is the profound influence of parents upon the development of their children.

God Has a Heritage for Your Children

     God has a heritage for your children from and through you. Perhaps, by outward appearance you don’t feel you are doing a very good job. Let those feelings move you  to walk humbly before your children. Walk in humility, acknowledge your need, be quick to confess your errors and your sin, that is all God asks of you! Let your needs tenderize your heart so that you clearly reflect the mercy of Christ to your children. Remember, you have no idea what God is going to give your children as a heritage from you! Are you imperfect? God is working all things together for good to those who love God. In this sense, you cannot fail in a way that God cannot use you as a blessing to your family.

     Let us be as we are in our need. Let us pursue the honor of God, and let God solve our problems. Evil is not good, but God can use it for good. God is in charge of passing His heritage to us. All we need to do is calm down and trust God and receive his inheritance through every shortcoming and failure.

     As we begin another school year, let me inspire you to embrace the simple things that God blesses in ordinary family matters. Through these He will pass on very significant blessings.  It is not the frantic commotion we make over the details that the real issues of life are made. The details are not where the heritage lies and they are not the solution. Read Hebrews 1:1-3. Why are we running around when Jesus is sitting down? This passage is a powerful voice into our lives, and his voice is saying that God has spoken in His Final Word by the greatest messenger that ever walked the earth, Jesus Christ. The question is, are we listening? Are we taking heed? The Son is The Heir and we are co-heirs with Him. There is no more eternal work going on anywhere than the work of the kingdom of Jesus Christ in your home. He is seated on the throne forever and our privilege is to share in that inheritance of the kingdom. All of earth’s goals must reflect this kingdom or be lost in insignificance.

     “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” That is a home-school question. What are your goals”? What dreams are you chasing? What are the instructional objectives that you have in mind? If you have any objective that is not shooting hard at Chris’s eternal kingdom, you are off course. Christ is sitting on the throne and we’re invited to join Him in His kingdom work. If you have any objective that’s not pointed directly at that, you are off the mark!

Time is the Waiting Room of Eternity

Time is the waiting room of eternity. What is a waiting room? It is a temporary place of activity. You don’t install your permanent assets and resources in the waiting room. You are going to quickly be picking up and moving on, you don’t want to leave all your assets behind. And that is the challenge for you and me. Seeking first the Kingdom of God is the heritage, the thumbprint that you must give your children. If you’re pursuing the kingdom of God, it’s going to be visible in what you do, the decisions you make, the corrections you make of you’re children. It’s going to show up and be a part of that thumbprint. Living for the eternal kingdom is going to be part of their heritage.

     The number one danger for disciples of Jesus Christ is to be preoccupied with lesser things and miss and forget the things that are really important. Don’t let eternity slip out from your focus and slip away from your lives. (see Hebrews 2:1-3) Frankly, homeschooling can threaten your heritage. If by homeschooling your motives take on carnal tools to succeed well in the carnal world, you will miss Christ. Jesus is the creator, he is the greatest scientist and mathematician there ever was. Don’t forget your priorities. There is something you must seek first and then the secondary things will be added to you. Allow God to put his hand on you and bless you!

     God’s blessing is the heritage of the saints. God wants to bless you in the circumstance that he has placed you. The chief issue isn’t what you know, but do you believe? The hardest part of homeschool decision making is the battle between what you believe and how you respond to the difficulty and turmoil in your circumstances. Therefore, there is an urgency for the Word God to be the preeminent focus of your curriculum. You are Christ’s disciple. The disciple is not above the master, and you are the disciple of Christ. You will never surpass Christ but your goal is to be like Him.

[note: originally published in the September 2009 Family Heritage Developer]