Metanoia
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6
Once you repent and turn to Jesus, you don’t turn around and walk back down the self-centered, self-glorifying road. Let me say up front that this doesn’t mean you won’t stumble or struggle at times as you are following Jesus. By His Grace and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, you will be upheld, strengthened, and transformed along the way, as you are becoming more like Jesus.
Similarly, once you turn from a particular lifestyle or worldview toward one that is more in line with truth, you don’t just throw all that you’ve learned and come to be convinced of out the window. You hold firmly to the truth once your eyes have been opened. Your mind has been changed. You are motivated to share what you know with others.
The caution here is not to hold on so tightly to secondary issues, but to leave room for either your mind to be changed as you learn and grow more, or to keep a calm and gentle spirit as you converse with others who don’t hold to your same opinions. G.K Chesterton articulates it this way, “Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
Paideia
I recently heard a story about a four-year old daughter watching her mom read the Bible and asking, “Mommy, when are you going to be finished reading that book?”
With confidence and a smile, the answer is “Never.”
I want that.
I want my children to see and hear me and my husband reading God’s Word daily and to be confident that there is no end to the joy, delight, hope, peace, learning, and life changing power that is found in the Bible alone.
The Bible is the standard of truth for every area of life. For paideia, raising our children in the nurture and discipline (or admonition) of the Lord, to be practiced, the Bible is the starting point and the focal point. Other Christ honoring sources, whether it be a book, a blog, or a podcast are wonderful sources of counsel and encouragement. These, too must be tested against the Word of God.
In general, paideia means education. I am a lifelong learner, and I hope you are too. If you are not yet, my hope is that you will be encouraged to begin striving to become a lifelong learner. Paideia is not watered down, wishy washy “education” but rather robust, rewarding education. Paideia is not a solo act; it’s communal.
Hand in Hand
Just as our repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not a one and done deal, but is rather an ongoing process, so it is with metanoia kai paideia: repentance and education. The trees planted by streams of water, the longstanding cathedral, and the garden are coinciding metaphors to describe the peace, refreshment, beauty, solidity, continual tending, blooming, and flourishing that is found and lived out in the community of Christian life and in service to other.
As you engage with my blog content or take the next step toward one of my services, my goal is to help develop, strengthen, and empower you and your family toward a lifestyle of metanoia kai paideia which marries and puts into practice holistic and nourishing living with a Biblical worldview.
We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be and if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when we do arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start over again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistakes. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.“
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Mama Lamb 