Educating for the Future

When I was a teenager, I used to enjoy playing the smart one, saying things like, “The present is the moment when the future becomes the past.” Little did I know that the concepts of time and history are major philosophical issues. Regardless, the fact is that our present lives are shaped both by what happened in the past and by our expectations of the future. Who we are as individuals is the result not only of our choices, but also of our vision of eternity.

Similarly, our view of education is informed by what we see when we look back: God’s creational purposes and Christ’s redemptive work, and by what is yet to come: our transition into the new creation. There are many views on how the world’s history will end and when exactly Jesus will return, but when we consider the implication of the new creation for education, perhaps the main question is, “How much continuity will there be between the present order and the future one?”[1]

Some advocate for radical discontinuity, believing that this world will be destroyed and that we will either go to a spiritual, nonphysical heaven or to a new heaven and new earth created ex nihilo (out of nothing).[2] In this case, what we teach and learn, the knowledge we develop, and the artifacts we create would be limited to the present order. Here, our educational efforts have intrinsic eternal meaning only to the extent that they serve spiritual causes.

Others, however, propose conditional continuity, as they understand that the world is not destined for destruction but for transformation. The greatest evidence that this is the direction of the biblical narrative is the resurrection of Christ, which makes possible our own resurrection and the receiving of a new, imperishable, spiritual body (Greek: pneumatikos; 1 Corinthians 15:42–44). The term pneumatikos could mean something non-material or physical, but Gordon Fee argues that its primary meaning in Paul’s letters is “of the Spirit (with a capital ‘S’).”[3] Thus, we are not talking about a ghostly mode of existence but of a distinctive body, like that of the resurrected Christ, generated by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). Christ’s resurrection, and consequently ours, is God’s great “yes” to our bodily existence, and it is the foundation for nature’s expectation that something similar will happen to it (Romans 8:19–21).

In this case, the new heavens and the new earth would be recreated ex vetere (out of the old world). This doesn’t mean that we can bring heaven to earth by human effort, but that, by God’s grace, our limitations and imperfections can leave a modest mark for eternity. Indeed, the expectation of Revelation is that our works will follow us (Revelation 14:13). Therefore, in the description of the New Jerusalem, we read that “the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it” (Revelation 21:26), clearly alluding to Isaiah 60, where the nations bring to God not their worship but the best of their cultures. Thus, Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf states, “The noble products of human ingenuity, ‘all that is beautiful, true, and good in human cultures,’ will be purified from impurity, perfected, and transfigured to become part of God’s new creation.”[4]

The Bible says little explicitly about education as we understand it today, but every aspect of our lives, including education, must be framed by all the chapters of the biblical narrative. Therefore, educating from the perspective of the new creation means:

• We are neither pessimistic nor optimistic about the future, but hopeful. We know we will face trials (John 16:33)— difficult students, inadequate teaching materials, inconvenient colleagues, negligent parents, insufficient resources, incompetent governments, and many other challenges. Yet, we press on because we know in whom we have believed and trust in His ability to bring history to the conclusion He has planned (2 Timothy 1:12). Moreover, we teach our students to move forward with hope in what God can do in their lives and contexts.
• We adopt a long-term, even eternal, perspective. We understand that our “here and now” life is simultaneously preparation and a preview of the “there and then” life. Therefore, we strive to be and form people who control their impulses, manage their anger, and speak the truth, for there is no place for immorality, murder, and falsehood in the new creation (Revelation 21:8). We also offer the world a foretaste of the great banquet of the Lamb through the way we conduct our educational projects. When we teach, we do not merely aim to solve immediate problems or simply cover the next content; we aim to develop a vision of who our students can become in Christ and humbly contribute to their growth into all God intends them to be.
• We value life in its entirety, including its physical and psycho-emotional aspects, cultural production done with integrity, and engagement in all areas of knowledge. After all, God is the Creator of all things in heaven and earth and is reconciling all things to Himself (Colossians 1:19–20). Sciences, social studies, math, and literature are not just useful for this life. These disciplines reveal the character of God and are expressions of our humanity. If we will be with God in eternity, everything that reveals Him and pertains to our new humanity in Christ will also be there.

In light of this biblical perspective, our approach to education must be one of hope, purpose, and long-term vision. We are not simply preparing students for the challenges of today, but for their role in God's redemptive plan, both in this world and the world to come. Education becomes an act of faith, investing in the eternal transformation of individuals and their communities, as we trust in God's ultimate renewal of all things.