Home-Schooling vs. Public vs. Private

Or perhaps not. There are things you rarely think about until you have a kid of your own. For example, how will I educate my child? My wife said to me the other day, "I think I am going to home-school our daughter." Huh? Are you kidding? My reaction was due more to my ignorance and fear, not to a revulsion of home-schooling itself. What will be the best for my child? I had not even thought about it.

I am not afraid of over-spiritualizing things. I look at each event and make each decision with the knowledge that God is intimately connected to, and sovereignly orchestrating, everything. That is my joy and relief. If I had to go through life with the knowledge that God was removed from our lives (deism) and that I was autonomously and sovereignly responsible for my actions, I would lose faith and passion. The only way I'll be able to make a decision for my daughter's education in faith is because I know God is orchestrating the outcome for his glory and my joy. So if I cannot afford private Christian school because I have heeded a particular call of God, I have not failed my kids. If we are not able to home-school or if we decide, in order to reach our world, to put our kids in public school, God will come out the victor. And even when we feel as though we have failed to provide the best thing possible for our kids, we can rest in the knowledge that God is in control. They will turn out just the way God wants them and will get the education they need for the greatest purpose in the world: making much of him.

So there is no versus here. Those sort of sentiments and beliefs should be left out of the conversation. Do the best you can for your child. Listen to God's voice and pick what is right for you. Have faith that God will use it for your good and his glory.

For more on this, check out this insightful message from Josh Harris on fostering unity among the educational camps: