【Day1】 Self-identification – Who am I?
The philosophy of parenting, education, and instruction in this series of courses is to raise and educate our children according to God’s philosophy, that is, according to the revelation of the divine Word in the Bible, and according to God’s goals and His heart. Of course, there are various experts in the world who can provide some help in certain areas, but they are not able to shepherd the child to God’s goal in terms of His will. Only those who are born of God, who live the life of God, who know the Word of God, who know the will of God, and who know the scriptures, can teach and administer such a holistic education to children. In other words, holistic education can only be carried out and accomplished by parents who love God, know His Word, His will, and who have the burden to educate their children to be vessels worthy of God’s heart.
Today we are going to look at the sixth part of a whole person. This is the education of a clear sense of self-identity and self-awareness, personal, family and community relationships. The first part is self-awareness and identification. It is the parent’s responsibility to teach the child to know who they are. Hymn #1293 says, “O I’m a man”. Don’t under-estimate this statement. There is so much more in “I am a man.” We must raise and train our children to know their own dignity and value. We must teach them that they are God’s masterpiece—holy, noble, and unique.
Secondly, children need to live as a part of a group— family, church and society. These are children’s personal and community relationships.
I am God’s masterpiece, a masterpiece in the process of being made, the center and meaning of the universe (Ps. 139:13-16, Eph. 2:10, Gen. 1:1-28, Jas. 12:1). God created the entire universe, the galaxy and the solar system. God created plants and animals by declaring. But when God created man, it was not as simple as He created other things. Man was created after a meeting of the Godhead with multiple steps. In the first step, God formed the material body of man from the dust of the earth. In the second step, God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of man. In the third step, man became a living soul. Therefore, the creation of man is relatively complicated. This shows that man is a masterpiece of God.
The creation of man is not only a masterpiece of God, but also a masterpiece which is still in the process of being developed; just like a child’s spirit, soul, and body are all still in the process of developing and growing. We have a good analogy with a cell phone. The spirit, soul, and body of man are only the hardware outside, and the software needs to be installed inside; just like a cell phone. Not only is there hardware on the outside, but there is also a need for software being installed inside in order to function properly. The software inside man is God Himself. This Triune God, who has gone through the process, is ready to install Himself inside man. Now the hardware of this child is in the process of being made, and the software will be installed into him step by step until the installation is completed, that is, God and man are reconciled together. When the change is completed, they will enter into glory. At that time, we will be the true, supreme, and ultimate completed masterpiece of God.
God’s Word clearly tells us that we were born with a sinful nature. (As David said in Psalms 51, “Behold, I was born in sin, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” I am a sinner born with a sinful nature (Ps. 5:8-3, 5:1-5, Rom. 3:23, 7:18-20). Parents must first have the knowledge of themselves that on the one hand we are God’s masterpiece, and on the other hand we are sinners born with a sinful nature. All men, except Christ, are born with a sinful nature conceived in sin and have a sinful nature. If we recognize ourselves as sinners with a sinful nature, we will know that we sin; and these sins cause difficulties and problems for ourselves and others. Without knowing we are sinners we will accuse others of their faults and always find trouble and difficulties with them. That’s why we all need salvation.
On the one hand, we are born sinners with a sinful nature; but on the other hand, we are a chosen, predestined and redeemed people. We are people who have been redeemed through the shedding of Christ’s blood and life. We are the chosen, called out of the millions, and redeemed to be God’s holy people, so we belong to God. In the New Testament, Titus 2 says that Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify us, and make Himself a distinct people, His own special possession”; we are God’s possession and treasure.
In the whole universe, of all things made by God, man is the supreme creation. Without man, the universe is empty and meaningless; therefore, man is the center and meaning of the universe.
