Living Well In A Kaleidoscope World
Whenever we travel, even if it’s just a weekend away, we always bring our grandchildren some little gift. Even though it’s certainly not necessary, as the popular Geico commercial says, “It’s just what we do!”
I must admit, we’re often thankful for airport gift shops…
The gifts we bring are simple little things – a children’s book, a puzzle, a miniature football, stuffed animals, matchbox cars, etc. One time we brought a children’s horn and drum set, with instructions that this gift must remain at their home!
This summer, we found a cool kaleidoscope that we thought two pre-schoolers would enjoy. As a matter of fact, this is one toy that’s usually appealing for all ages, so I shared time peering into it with the boys. You know the drill, right? As you hold the cylinder and look through the eyehole at one end, you twist the opposite end of the cylinder with your other hand. Multiple mirrors then reflect an array of loose, colored objects into an endless number of dazzling, colorful patterns.
Since probably everyone in the free world has used a kaleidoscope, we all know their properties – a never-ending, ever-changing display of diverse, complex elements. Even though what we see often doesn’t make sense, and we don’t necessarily like every image, it’s always fascinating.
That’s Us!
We, clearly, live in a kaleidoscope world. Ever-changing, diverse, complex. Filled with beauty, but a lot of it doesn’t make sense. And just like the kaleidoscope toy, our world has two critical elements that make it work in the first place.
Try taking your kaleidoscope into a closet, close the door and turn off the light. Now put it up to your eye and…the toy is useless! Two essential requirements are missing – the ability to see clearly through the lens and, most important of all, a light source.
Those crucial elements, my friends, are the core distinctives of the LCS educational experience. In fact, they set the Christian school apart in this broken world. What a privilege to serve each day at a place that joins with the church and the Christian home in equipping children and teenagers to live, with clear focus, in an ever-changing, complex culture.
Seeing Life More Clearly
Lakeland Christian students are trained to see all of life through the lens of God’s Holy Word. As they study history, science, English, math and a host of other subjects, students see God’s hand in all of it. Just as a polarizing filter on my camera enriches photos, LCS students are led to embrace the Bible as a filter, and not just for life enrichment, but as their direction for all of life. This world begins to come into focus when we actually see it through the lens of God speaking to us through His Word.
Lighten Up!
LCS, in tandem with the lens, also points students to the source of light.
“I am the light of the world…Christ shall give you light…If we walk in the light as He is in the light…And the light shines in darkness…your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path…”
It’s a critical thing, really, in the life of this next generation. We live in a culture where the supposed virtues of individualism, consumerism, materialism, cynicism, and many other alluring “isms” surround us. Then there’s the whole sex/gender issue. And, of course, society now relies on social media for everything from information to self-esteem. If it’s on Facebook, it must be true, right?
With all the complexity of the age, we simply must continue to look to the Light (of the world). Although life may seem full and fulfilling without this discipline, in reality it’s empty and…dark.
I’m writing this post during a time, even a week, where we are seeing new depths of depravity. Sadly, even news reporters aren’t safe doing their daily work. As sin patterns of this world continue to escalate, I’m encouraged that a next generation at LCS is given a lens and shown a light source to help them navigate their kaleidoscope world.