It is a King that our spirits cry for, to guide them, discipline them, unite them to each other; to give them a victory over themselves, a victory over the world. It is a Priest that our spirits cry out for, to lift them above themselves to their God and Father, to make them partakers of his nature, fellow-workers in one authentic testimony that He is both the Priest and King of Men
This compelling quote is from a text that RMCA teachers engaged with each day during our recent school-wide inservice week. Combining ideas and quotations from Scripture, Charlotte Mason, and other wise voices, “Nurturing the Divine Life in the Child” is a glorious reminder of who we are, as parents and teachers, and what we should be about.
For your child’s teachers, it brought to the forefront of our minds and hearts the fleeting opportunity that we have to cultivate a deep relationship with our Living God. This quote from the text sums up this critical importance:
A great power has been placed in the hands of parents and teachers, the power to enthrone the King, to induct the Priest into the innermost chamber of a child’s heart. There is no greater service to be done for a child, no greater gift to be given a child. For what does it matter if a child gains the whole world but loses his soul?
As our Master Teacher Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:36, there is nothing more important in this life than a relationship with Him. So, how are our actions today reflecting that reality? How are our words cultivating thoughts and ways of being within our children that encourage him or her to rest in Christ? How is our entire being a reflection of what it means to be a son or daughter of the King?
How can we do this consistently and effectively, in the midst of many other calls on our time and attention? Consider this wonderful quote from Charlotte Mason herself in her text Home Education, which your child’s teachers read aloud, told-back, and interacted with during inservice:
But what can the parent do? Just this, and no more: he can present the idea of God to the soul of the child. Here, as throughout his universe, Almighty God works by apparently inadequate means. Who would say that a bee can produce apple trees? Yet a bee flies from an apple tree laden with the pollen of its flowers: this it unwittingly deposits on the stigmas of the flowers of the next tree it comes to. The bee goes, but the pollen remains, but with all the length of the style between it and the immature ovule below. That does not matter; the ovule has no power to reach the pollen grain, but the latter sends forth a slender tube, within the tube of the style; the ovule is reached; behold, then, the fruit, with its seed, and, if you like, future apple trees! Accept the parable: the parent is little better in this matter than the witless bee; it is his part to deposit, so to speak, within reach of the soul of the child some fruitful idea of God; the immature soul makes no effort towards that idea, but the living Word reaches down, touches the soul––and there is life; growth and beauty, flower and fruit.
Granted, we are limited in what any one of us can do. Ultimately, our children are in the hands of good and gracious God. However, “right now counts forever.” Our great opportunity today and any other day is to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves. Perhaps the most important thing that any of us can do today is to simply be attentive to the opportunities that God is giving us right now. Consider the following questions that each of us may ask ourselves today:
I invite you to read the full text of “Nurturing the Divine Life in the Child” and to share in the experience that our teachers enjoyed. You may access the complete text here.
Serving together,
Mr. Byrd
