Back to School

Pause

“There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born till the moment you die, is a process of learning.”

Jiddu Krishnamurti

I just read about a 90-year-old Kenyan woman who is proof that education has no age limit. Priscilla, a midwife, is going to primary school for the first time so she can learn to read and write. Because she grew up in an occupied country and lived through Kenya’s struggle for independence, she never received an education. She wears a school uniform and sits on the front row of her class. Priscilla says, “Education is your wealth.”

Listen

He responded, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:27

Think

I love this passage because it gives concrete ways to love God. My senior pastor breaks it down like this: When you spend your days learning in school, you are loving God with all your mind. When you exercise, play sports, or rest, you are loving God with all of your strength. When you spend quality time with those you love, or you do those hobbies that bring you joy, you are loving God with all your heart. And when you nurture your spiritual life, whether through prayer, Scripture reading, or worship, you are loving God with all your being. And to have a balanced life, you need to include all four of these into your everyday life. We do most of these things every day. Now we just need to be mindful of God’s presence when we do them. This will change us on the inside.

And whenever we love those around us at school or in our neighborhood or on our team, even those who are hard to love, we are loving God in a way that changes others’ lives. This is what will change our world.

Ann Whitfield Carter

Pray

God, open my eyes to the ways I can love you with all my heart, my being, my strength, and my mind. Give me the courage to love those I encounter as I move through my day. Help me be mindful that my everyday activities — even learning — can be done as an act of love for you. May it be so. Amen.

Go

Go out into your day to be a learner
Open your eyes and your ears
Open your mind and your heart
Open your hands
To God’s amazing world
To God’s amazing people
Be surprised by what you discover
And never stop learning