It’s about Relationships
The realization had occurred to me many times before, but this year there was a greater significance. The Thanksgiving holiday stressed the importance of our family expressing gratefulness to the Lord for His many blessings; and as I observed the eighty-plus members of my extended family gather for a reunion, I was struck with the importance of relationships. Four generations spanning 96 years were represented. Some of the adults had made a commitment to whole-heartedly follow Jesus Christ and His ways, some had a mediocre approach toward Christ that perhaps could be described as lukewarm, and others were either on the spiritual sidelines or not even in the arena.
What was more interesting to observe was the behavior of those present. The children who were homeschooled did a better job of cooperating and intermingling with all age groups and were more responsive to the parents than those who attended public school. That was particularly true with the older children. Some of the adults who were not committed to Christ had tension between themselves which was caused by believing and spreading a lie. Those who had been making poor life decisions had difficulty being genuine and either spent more time on their smart phones or left the event early instead of engaging with others.
Life is not about how many things a person can obtain, or personal accomplishments achieved, or prestige gained … but relationships with others. Obviously, the most important relationship is a personal one with Jesus Christ that is constantly growing. God made that clear when He gave the first of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, and the Savior emphasized it in the New Testament when He said to seek first the kingdom of God. Satan has been doing his best since the Garden of Eden to interrupt and destroy relationships between God and man.
The second most important relationship we must have is a proper one with our family members. It is critical that we continually develop that bond. That’s where Christian home education comes into the picture. If parents do not strive to live for Christ at home and seek to lead their children to a vibrant relationship with the Savior, homeschooling will only produce an educated fool. The proper use of the Word of God and prayer are absolutely essential to a well-rounded education.
Good relationships must constantly be nourished. They require effort and will not automatically become strong. I suspect that the few individuals who had a negative experience with homeschooling were following rules instead of developing an exciting relationship with Christ. Let’s encourage one another to stay focused on the real goal … discipling our children for Christ and giving them a solid education in the process.