Finding Energy for the Work of Education

October 7, 2024

by Missy Andrews

In Colossians 3:23-24, the Apostle Paul alludes to the fruitfulness of patiently abiding in the finished work of Jesus. He puts it like this: “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

When I was engaged in my homeschooling efforts, I thought I had that wholeheartedness part down. I pushed and strove and worked diligently. But whether I did this “as to the Lord and not to please men,” well, that varied from day to day, from moment to moment. And in those moments when the fear of man drove me, the homeschooling project became a snare, an idol that threatened to devour me and my children.

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance…” Notice that the verse does not say if you work hard enough, you will receive the reward of your work. Thank God for His mercy; for, who could ever work hard enough? Long enough? Who could ever do enough? No, it’s an inheritance that the Lord’s children receive, and it’s not earned, but given. The energy for wholeheartedness rests in the implications of that word inheritance, which suggest that the reward you seek in your earnest striving has nothing to do with worldly economics. Not as the world gives does Jesus give to you. While the world metes out stars and black marks according to performance, the promised reward of life and a name and glory comes from the finished work of Jesus, who tells us not to fear. You see, it’s the Father’s good pleasure to give to us the Kingdom! (Luke 12:32-34).

The Gospel for hard-working Christian homeschool parents is this: that God the Father, in Christ Jesus His Son, has put an end to our attempts to earn by slavery and hard labor the benefits He wills to His children. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

How can Jesus’s easy yoke lighten our burden as homeschool parents? How can resting in His gospel inspire joyful teaching and produce real rewards? It’s in this: that He has borne the weight of our identity projects Himself.

On the cross, the Suffering Servant endured the penalty of our self-salvation projects. He bore the judgment of the Law in all its iterations, even that “little-l” law of homeschooling, absorbing its damning condemnation into the sea of His forgiveness and favor, so that, when it washes back up on your shore, it has lost its cosmic naming power. Consequently, you find that you are no longer a slave, but free, and the homeschool project you loaded with naming power – that glittering image you looked to for justification and “enoughness” – has returned to you as no god, but education in all of its plain goodness. Reading, writing, arithmetic, science, great ideas, great conversations, art, and music all return to you as evidence of the mercy of God, who created them for His children to enjoy. Delivered of existential consequence, the homeschool project suddenly delights, entertains, enlightens, convicts, conforms, challenges, inspires, and equips.

This is what comes of abiding. This is the fruit of the gospel of Jesus’ resurrecting love:

If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you have confidence in my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment – that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:7-12)

Stay in me. Be the bearing branch, that receives the love that pours through the plant and produces the common fruit of love that stems from its source.

If the project of homeschooling and teaching is anything, it’s love: the laying down of your life daily for your kids; the long-suffering as you bear with their disrespect and resistance; the discipline you apply to train them; the encouragement and exhortation you offer; the grace you extend when they do again that thing you asked them not to do; the place that you create for them and the belonging and security they find with you; the space you offer them to try and fail and grow and discover with you that all is grace. This is the work of the Christian parent-educator; this is love.

To be certain, this homeschool year promises a lot of work, and you will be the one behind it – often with your foot pressed firmly in your kiddos’ backs. The question is, where will your energy for this project derive? Where will the impetus for this mountain of labor originate? Where will you look for help, sustenance, vision, power, perseverance? Will you look to your image, to your ideals of the successful homeschool, to keep you going? They will judge you and find you wanting, no matter how successfully you implement your schedule or how heavily you labor in the traces.

Jesus calls us to a different way. He calls us to bear fruit by depending, clinging to the One who loves us and becoming conduits of His love to our children. Put down your glittering images and look on Him who was pierced for you – that Suffering Servant, who, hanging from the cross, proclaimed with His expiring breath, “It is finished!” Live in His proclamation. Live in His finished work and look to His naming, centering, orienting, secure, productive, faithful, energizing, joy-inducing, powerful love to be the gas in your tank this year. You are not working for a name – for life or belonging or reputation. All these things are yours already in Christ Jesus, who lived and died and was resurrected in love for you. We work from this secure relationship and from this certain identity.

The promise of fruitfulness is in the seed of the Gospel. Stay in it. Teach from it, and your love will become an extension of God’s love and grace. Make this the theme of your school year and of all your homeschooling efforts, in which, together with your glorious wrecks of children, you stand as trophies of God’s magnificent grace, ever increasing in your knowledge of His goodness and naming love.