Breaking the Fallow Ground
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is the time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 NIV
Only a little while, sowing and reaping,
Only a little while, our vigil keeping;
Then we shall gather home, no more to sever,
Clasped in eternal love, blest, blest forever.
-Fanny Crosby
Hello Friends,
The concept of unplowed or fallow ground can take on several meanings. Visually, it ushers in a picture of hardened soil suffering from a lack of close care. Weeds are crowding the space that once offered optimal conditions for harvest. The soil, no longer being bent back toward God’s original design, is sadly denied the fulfillment of its intended purpose.
Unplowed or fallow ground can be symbolic of a life woefully misguided due to the absence of Biblical shepherding. Unwavering, unapologetic, scripturally-aligned shepherding ensures a God-glorifying, fulfilled life. Without such cultivation, there is high likelihood that weeds such as purposelessness, despair, entitlement, and vengefulness will choke out one’s God-ordained, inherent potential.
From the beginning, God tasked parents, grandparents, and the family with this responsibility.
These are the commands, decrees, and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children, and their children, and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Deuteronomy 6:1-3
We are to be steadily cultivating, through instruction and modeling, our children’s minds and hearts to follow, honor, and live for Him.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 5-9
God’s Word is unquestionably clear.
Parents, grandparents, and family, please take a moment to self-reflect. If you have been blessed and charged by God with a child or children, then ask these critical questions. Is this a priority or an occasional preference? Is it daily or a couple of times a week/month/year? Are you equipping yourself well by praying, studying God’s Word, and growing in knowledge with other like-minded believers? Who are you trusting outside of your direct influence to come alongside you and pour God’s precepts and promises into your child’s mind and heart? How much concentrated time are you having with your child versus this outside entity?
Cultivation of the mind and heart is education. Today, the where, what, why, and how principles of educational philosophies and methodologies can create a great deal of contentious debate. Additionally, the educational choices society is afforded are numerous. To make wise decisions, we need to prayerfully seek God’s will, and recount His scriptural positions on instruction. Additionally, we must bear the charge He has entrusted, and responsibly take ownership of the choice.
If a family chooses a public institution of learning, then a great deal of supervision, refutation of falsehoods, Christian legal advocacy, campus involvement, and intentional home and church-guided Biblical instruction is imperative. When homeschooling, a family must recognize the criticality of their child’s Biblical worldview instruction and well-rounded preparedness through curriculum choice, time management, and like-minded fellowship and collaboration. Choosing a private, Christian school must entail a thorough examination of whether its mission, vision, staff and student culture, leadership, curriculum, and classroom instruction are saturated in Biblical Worldview. This can only be discovered through tours, in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and textbook reviews.
No subject matter, textbook, literature, song, piece of art, play, sport, or lecture is neutral. Either it bears witness to God, or it directs a mind and heart subtly or openly away from Him. The how of education can be the most celebrated, sinister, or confusing aspect. It is the heartbeat of education. Currently, we are witnessing frequent reports of political and societal agendas being blatantly injected into public education’s how, yet a vast amount of Christian homeschool and private educators are lamenting that they are ill-equipped and lack training on Biblical Worldview contextualization.
Since its inception, RenewaNation has been blessed to inspire many Christian educators to the need of Biblical Worldview education. As God has connected us with phenomenal resources over the past few years, we will be taking Biblical Worldview educator training to the next level with the launch of our REAP (RenewaNation Educator Advancement Program) initiative. REAP is focused on equipping educators with the tools, resources, and skills to cultivate Biblical education in their homes, classrooms, and churches.
The official launch commences with our 2021 “Sowing for the Harvest” conference. Guest speakers Dr. Roger Erdvig, Dr. Keith McCurdy, and RenewaNation’s Jeff Keaton will lead dynamic main sessions that will encourage and challenge educators and administrators to examine afresh their educational environment and approach. Breakout sessions on how to Biblically contextualize Elementary, Middle, and High school specific subject matter will prove invaluable with planning for the upcoming school year. The “Sowing for the Harvest” conference is just the beginning of REAP’s new and exciting educator training and equipping resources.
There is a battle being waged for the hearts and minds of our children. We must be prepared to cultivate and harvest a mighty multitude for the cause of Christ!
For more information about REAP and our 2021 "Sowing for the Harvest" conference, go to Renewanation.org/REAP or email me at tgordon@renewanation.org.
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