Education
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 4: Relation of Education to Redemption
By sin man was shut out from God. Except for the plan of
redemption, eternal separation from God, the darkness of unending night, would
have been his. Through the Saviour's sacrifice, communion with God is again
made possible. We may not in person approach into His presence; in our sin we
may not look upon His face; but we can behold Him and commune with Him in
Jesus, the Saviour. "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God"
is revealed "in the face of Jesus Christ." God is "in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 4:6; 5:19. {Ed 28.1}
"The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,
. . . full of grace and truth." "In Him was life; and the
life was the light of men." John 1:14, R.V.; 1:4. The life and the death
of Christ, the price of our redemption, are not only to us the promise and
pledge of life, not only the means of opening again to us the treasures of
wisdom: they are a broader, higher revelation of His character than even the
holy ones of Eden knew. {Ed
28.2}
And while Christ opens heaven to man, the life which He
imparts opens the heart of man to heaven. Sin not [29] only
shuts us away from God, but destroys in the human soul both the desire and the
capacity for knowing Him. All this work of evil it is Christ's mission to undo.
The faculties of the soul, paralyzed by sin, the darkened mind, the perverted
will, He has power to invigorate and to restore. He opens to us the riches of
the universe, and by Him the power to discern and to appropriate these
treasures is imparted. {Ed
28.3}
Christ is the "Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world." John 1:9. As through Christ every human being has
life, so also through Him every soul receives some ray of divine light. Not
only intellectual but spiritual power, a perception of right, a desire for
goodness, exists in every heart. But against these principles there is
struggling an antagonistic power. The result of the eating of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man's experience. There is in
his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist. To
withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his inmost soul he accepts
as alone worthy, he can find help in but one power. That power is Christ.
Co-operation with that power is man's greatest need. In all educational effort
should not this co-operation be the highest aim? {Ed 29.1}
The true teacher is not satisfied with second-rate work. He
is not satisfied with directing his students to a standard lower than the
highest which it is possible for them to attain. He cannot be content with
imparting to them only technical knowledge, with making them merely clever
accountants, skillful artisans, successful tradesmen. It is his ambition to
inspire them with principles of truth, obedience, honor, integrity, and purity—principles
that will make them a positive force for the stability and uplifting [30]
of society. He desires them, above all else, to learn life's great lesson of
unselfish service. {Ed
29.2}
These principles become a living power to shape the
character, through the acquaintance of the soul with Christ, through an
acceptance of His wisdom as the guide, His power as the strength, of heart and
life. This union formed, the student has found the Source of wisdom. He has
within his reach the power to realize in himself his noblest ideals. The
opportunities of the highest education for life in this world are his. And in
the training here gained, he is entering upon that course which embraces
eternity. {Ed 30.1}
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In the highest sense the work of education and the work of
redemption are one, for in education, as in redemption, "other foundation
can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." "It was the
good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fullness dwell." 1
Corinthians 3:11; Colossians 1:19, R.V. {Ed 30.2}
Under changed conditions, true education is still conformed
to the Creator's plan, the plan of the Eden school. Adam and Eve received instruction
through direct communion with God; we behold the light of the knowledge of His
glory in the face of Christ. {Ed
30.3}
The great principles of education are unchanged. "They
stand fast for ever and ever" (Psalm III:8); for they are the principles
of the character of God. To aid the student in comprehending these principles,
and in entering into that relation with Christ which will make them a
controlling power in the life, should be the teacher's first effort and his
constant aim. The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a co-worker with
Christ, a laborer together with God. {Ed 30.4}
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"The Education of Israel"
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