Also surprising is that we learn from God through His revelation to us through His Word, that we are called upon to reflect God’s grace in our relationship with others. As it says in 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve other, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” This is s huge surprise that we are called to be God’s grace givers, but the great part about this revelation is that god gives us the grace to show grace.

The place of mystery: The next great surprise is God’s mystery. God made Himself and His purposes known in the person and work of His Son, Jesus Christ. This mystery had been kept hidden till the time of Christ, but in His coming, was made plain. The accompanying great surprise of the mystery is that it is our responsibility as Christ’s followers to make the mystery plain to others. As we have experienced the grace of God through Christ, it is our responsibility to be Christ’s representatives and ambassadors to tell the good news in ways that can be understood.

The place of power: The third great surprise is God’s power. God showed His power in creation, in His authority over all things and particularly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His power is evident in our world today and is evident in the lives of His people as they reveal God’s character, the power to transform the thinking and practices of our community and our world.


The next astounding surprise is that we have been given the power to be the people God wants us to be, the power to make a difference, the power to reflect Christ’s character, the power to transform the thinking and practices of our community and our world.


The bottom line of these great surprises and our part in them is that it is only by the sovereignty of our God that we have received the grace, mystery and power and it is only by the Spirit of God that we can exercise the grace, explain the mystery and live our lives by the power. Therefore, it is God working in us and through us that leads to the transformation of character that God requires and that we are called upon to display.



GOD’S SURPRISES: GRACE, MYSTERY AND POWER

Dr E J Boyce

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Isn’t that wonderful? God, our Creator, has created each one of us in His own image, but each one of us is unique and therefore, of special worth to our Creator. God has given us His Son to be our Saviour because He wants each of us to be right with Him and therefore, to be members of His family. To each of us, He has given gifts according to His purposes, so that each of us can be His person at each point in our lives in each situation.

It is good to be involved in a Christian school community which integrates students of all types of ability so that children with learning difficulties and highly gifted students are included and valued as individuals. One of our students in the integration program became the first published author of our school community. Some of our most gifted students have shown an acceptance of, and care for others to a remarkable degree as they have identified with others as being of equal worth and therefore, to be valued.

The bottom line in understanding that each of us is somebody is to acknowledge our Creator God and His grace in gifting each of us according to His purpose for the common good. Such attitude allows each of us to do our work with a sense of purpose and satisfaction.



EACH OF US IS A “THUMB-BODY”



Dr E J Boyce

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In the letter of James in the Bible, chapter 3 highlights the importance of the tongue. James says that if a person is never at fault in what he or she says, that person is spiritually mature and self-controlled. By way of further explanation of the impact of our tongues, James likens the tongue to the bits in horses’ mouths, rudders in large ships and small sparks of fire in a forest of trees. Furthermore, James reminds us that the tongue is extraordinarily difficult to tame. He continues by saying, “with the tongue we praise God and with it we curse people who have been made in God’s image” (James 4:9).



It is very important, therefore, to ensure that the beliefs and values of our children are developed in such a way that what they say reflects their developing characters. As Jesus Himself said, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). With regards to what we say, we need to exercise self-control because of the powerful impact of our words. For us to teach our children this understanding, we need to be good practitioners of using our tongues to say that which is good.



Our tongues have been given to us for two particular reasons other than taste. That is, in our use of the spoken word, we should praise God and edify others.



WHAT WE SAY HAS IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES.



Dr E J Boyce

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The Bible provides us with a different concept, and that is the concept of self-acceptance. To understand this concept properly, it is necessary to examine the second commandment within the commandments, which, of course, is as follows: “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27b). Traditionally, within the Christian community, the strong emphasis of application of this commandment has been the first part. This concept is highlighted in the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan which emphasises, and properly so, the need to put the interests of others ahead of our own interests. Indeed, this injunction is given to us by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:4: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” To love your neighbour means to accept that person as he or she is and to take care of that person.

Within the arena of Christian education, it is vital that we display this characteristic of Christian life so that the students in our care become servants of others as Jesus taught by His life and words. This command of Christ is not only to those within our own family or our own church, but refers to any person in need in any part of the world. It is extremely important that we learn and teach others to accept those who are different and take care of them. This direction reflects this second commandment.

The second part of the second commandment which has been ignored significantly within the Christian community, is that which says to love yourself. Walter and Ingrid Trobisch have written an excellent book entitle “Loving Yourself”. In the context of the second commandment, called the Royal Law of Scripture (James 2:8), each person is to accept himself or herself and to take care of himself or herself. When the concept of loving oneself is understood in this context, it is clear that much of what is considered as self-esteem or even self-awareness can too readily create a wrong view of oneself.

As Christian parents and Christian educators, we need to help our children to know themselves as responsible to God the Creator and acceptable to Him as they are. It is probable that the effective teaching and learning in this area of understanding will lead to great improvement in personal health and well-being as well as service towards others. Indeed, it may well be that such a process of education would lead to significantly reduced peer pressure, decreased levels of emotional depression and a huge reduction in suicide, gang participation and inappropriate social behaviour. To assist our children to know their place in God’s world is one of our greatest responsibilities. We neglect this responsibility at our peril: we address it with expectation of great blessing.

SELF-ACCEPTANCE IS A KEY TO GOD-HONOURING SUCCESSFUL LIVES



Dr E J Boyce

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