Biblically Speaking

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Seeing The Elephant

By Rev. Joseph Graber

The Christian's view of the world is starkly contrasted to all nonChristian views of the world in the following scriptural passages:

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thess. 5:4-5

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." Isaiah 42:16

Time and time again in scripture the contrast is made between the world groping blindly as in darkness and Christians who see clearly having been brought from darkness into light. One may recall the example of all the blind men feeling different parts of the elephant and describing what the elephant is really like. One described the elephant as the ear; one described the trunk; and another the tail. None of these men could understand how it all worked together for they each foolishly thought that they had the correct understanding of the beast. In reality, they were all equally wrong in their blind groping just as all nonChristian thought is equally foolish in its blind groping. Only the Christian can step back and view the world as God created it and upholds it, and therefore, it is only the Christian who can actually understand the world (or the elephant).

Too often we are content to allow ourselves to become blind gropers and to be taught to see by blind men. It is no wonder that Christians have an increasingly difficult time to see the elephant of the world since we have allowed blind men to teach us to shut our eyes and feel our way to a personal view of the world. How foolish it is to allow the blind men to shape our view of the world when the only way to see the elephant (the world) correctly is through the "light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel", Jesus Christ (Luke 2:32).

When we begin to understand that any knowledge or instruction which is based upon something other than submission to Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is merely foolish groping, we have to reassess who we allow to teach our children and what they are taught. To allow our children to be taught things based in secular, nonChristian understandings is to have our children taught to see by blind men groping about the elephant. Our children might understand the feeling of the ear or the tail of the elephant, but they cannot have any true understanding of the elephant (the world).

We can't just teach a little religion aside from all the secular groping about, but we must teach Christianity to our children in every subject area, every exercise, and every lesson. To teach a little Christianity on the side would be to give our children a glimpse of the world occasionally while they will receive the vast majority of their education and training with their eyes closed. We raise Godly men and women to carry on the work of Christ by teaching them in the light with their eyes open all the time.

Let me give you a simple example of how our Puritan forefathers did this very thing. The following is a well know but seldom seen tool used to teach the alphabet to children, and it is a great example of basing instruction on Christ.

B - Thy life to mend

C - The Cat doth play

E - An Eagles flight

G - As runs the Glass

H - My Book and Heart

J - Job feels the Rod

K - Our King the good

M - The Moon gives light

N - Nightingales sing

O - The Royal Oak it was the Tree

That sav'd His Royal Majesty

Q - Queen Esther comes in Royal State

To save the Jews from dismal fate

R - Rachel doth mourn

T - Time cuts down all

Both great and small

U - Uriah's beauteous Wife

Made David seek his life

W - Whales in the Sea

X - Xerxes the great did die

And so must you and I

Y - Youth forward slips

Z - Zacheus he did climb

The tree his Lord to see