True education means more than pursuing a certain course of study. It has to do with the whole person, and with the whole period of existence possible to human beings. It is the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers.
The source of such an education is brought to view in these inspired words that point to the Infinite One: In Him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3. The world has had its great teachers, men and women of giant intellect and extensive research, people who have stimulated thought and opened to view vast fields of knowledge. But there is One who stands higher than they. As heavenly bodies in our solar system shine by the reflected light of the sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world's great thinkers reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Every gleam of thought, every flash of the intellect, is from the Light of the world.
In these days much is said concerning the nature and importance of "higher education." The true "higher education" is that which is imparted by Him out of whose mouth "come knowledge and understanding." Proverbs 2:6.
All true knowledge and real development have their source in a knowledge of God. Wherever we turn, in the physical, mental, or spiritual realms; in whatever we observe and study, apart from the blight of sin, this knowledge is revealed. Whatever line of investigation we pursue with a sincere purpose to arrive at truth, we are brought in touch with the unseen mighty Intelligence that is working in and through all. The human mind is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite with the Infinite. In this communion is found the highest education. It is God's own method of development. "Acquaint yourself with Him" (Job 22:21) is God's message to the human family. The method outlined in these words was the method followed in the education of Adam and Eve.
God's Glorious Purpose
In order to understand what is comprehended in the work of education, we need to consider both the nature of human beings and the purpose of God in creating them. We need to consider also the change in their condition through a knowledge of evil, and God's plan for fulfilling His glorious purpose in the education of the human race.
When Adam and Eve came from the Creator's hand, they bore, in their physical, mental, and spiritual natures, a likeness to their Maker. "God created humankind in His image" (Genesis 1:27, NRSV), and it was His purpose that the longer men and women lived the more fully they should reveal this image. All their faculties were capable of development; their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the scope offered for their exercise, glorious the field opened to their research. The mysteries of the visible universe--the "wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16)--invited their study. Face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with their Maker was their high privilege.
If they had remained loyal to God, all this would have been theirs forever. Throughout eternal ages they would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge, discover fresh springs of happiness, and obtain clearer and yet clearer conceptions of the wisdom, power, and love of God. More and more fully would they have fulfilled the object of their creation, more and more fully would they have reflected the Creator's glory.
But by disobedience this was forfeited. Through sin the divine likeness was marred and almost obliterated. The physical powers of human beings were weakened, their mental capacity was lessened, their spiritual vision was dimmed. They had become subject to death. Yet the race was not left without hope. By infinite love and mercy a life of probation was granted. To restore in men and women the image of their Maker, to bring them back to the perfection in which they were created--this was to be the work of redemption. This is the object of education, the great object of life.
The Place of Love
Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true education. This is made plain in the law that God has given as the guide of life. The first and great commandment is, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind." Luke 10:27. To love Him, the infinite, omniscient One, with the whole strength, mind, and heart, means the highest development of every power. It means that the image of God is to be restored in mind and soul.
Like the first is the second commandment--"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:39. The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind, and soul to the service of God and humanity. This service, while making us a blessing to others, brings the greatest blessing to ourselves. Unselfishness underlies all true development. Through unselfish service every faculty receives the highest cultivation. More and more fully we become partakers of the divine nature.
Since God is the source of all true knowledge, the first object of education is to direct our minds to His own revelation of Himself. Adam and Eve received knowledge through direct communion with God, and they learned of Him through His works. All created things, in their original perfection, were an expression of the thought of God. To Adam and Eve nature was teeming with divine wisdom. But by transgression the human race was cut off from learning of God through direct communion, and, to a great degree, through His works. The earth, marred and defiled by sin, reflects but dimly the Creator's glory. Nature still speaks of her Creator, yet these revelations are partial and imperfect, and in our fallen state, with weakened powers and restricted vision, we are incapable of interpreting it correctly. We need the fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in His written Word.
The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such should be given the highest place in education. To obtain an education worthy of the name, we must receive a knowledge of God, the Creator, and of Christ, the Redeemer, as they are revealed in the sacred Word.
Power to Think and to Do
Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator--individuality, power to think and to do. The men and women in whom this power is developed are those who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence character. It is the work of true education to develop this power, to train young people to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other people's thought. Let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will expand and strengthen.
Instead of producing educated weaklings, institutions of learning may send forth men and women who are strong to think and act--individuals who are masters and not slaves of circumstances, individuals who possess breadth of mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.
Such an education strengthens the character, so that truth and uprightness are not sacrificed to selfish desire or worldly ambition. Instead of some master passion becoming a power to destroy, every motive and desire is brought into conformity to the great principles of right. As the perfection of God's character is dwelt upon, the mind is renewed and the soul is recreated in His image.
What education can be higher than this? What can equal it in value?
"It cannot be gotten for gold,
Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, ...
For the price of wisdom is above rubies."
Job 28:15-18.
God's Ideal for Us
Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children. Godliness--godlikeness--is the goal to be reached. Before the student there is opened a path of continual progress, an object to achieve, a standard to attain that includes everything good, pure, and noble. Students will advance as fast and as far as possible in every branch of true knowledge. But their efforts will be directed to objects as much higher than mere selfish and temporal interests as the heavens are higher than the earth.
Teachers do a high and noble work by cooperating with the divine purpose in imparting to young people a knowledge of God, and in molding the character in harmony with His. In awaking a desire to reach God's ideal, they present an education that is as high as heaven and as broad as the universe. This education cannot be completed in this life, but will be continued in the life to come. It is an education that secures to successful students a passport from the preparatory school of earth to the higher grade, the school above.