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The Creation Blessing

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Often when I leave for work, I say goodbye to my wife and children by offering good wishes. Have you ever thought about the common phrase “have a nice day”? Grammatically, it’s an imperative or command like “be good!”  The way it looks on paper it could be followed up with “or else” as in “have a nice day or else . . .” But no one ever says it that way. We say it more like “may you have a nice day.” We’re actually blessing one another in the form of a command.

Divine Blessing

In Genesis 1:28 we read about a blessing given in the form of a command. After creating humans male and female in His own image, God blessed them. The wording of this blessing is a command; so we often refer to it as the Creation Mandate.

Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The-Garden-of-Eden

Divine Command

Unlike our good wishes, God’s blessing carries the weight of a command. We shouldn’t resist His blessing from Genesis 1:28 and expect things to go well for us. For example, in Genesis 11 Noah’s descendants rejected God’s command and all gathered in one place to build the tower of Babel. As a result of their sin, God confused their language and sent the people throughout the world.

Unbelievers can share in God’s blessing by following the Creation Mandate. In fact, many do. In BJU Press science and math textbooks, we highlight how scientists and mathematicians use their knowledge of God’s world to “have dominion.” They use their skill to care for the creation and use the creation for others’ benefit. Many of those professionals following the Creation Mandate are experiencing the common grace of God’s creation blessing in their lives.

Divine Reach

Because I’m human, the blessings I speak are little more than well-wishing. I may say, “I hope you have a nice day.” But while I’m at work, I have little immediate control over what happens at home, and some days my wife feels overwhelmed. In contrast, God’s blessing on the first man and woman had power behind it to confer that blessing on all of humanity.

God’s power is infinite, so His action in Genesis 1:28 reaches through time and space to all people. Not even the Fall overthrew His blessing to fill the earth and exercise dominion. The long line of impressive civilizations throughout history with all their remarkable achievements, technological advancements, and beautiful artwork evidences God’s power and kindness to humanity expressed in His first words to mankind.

As parents, we have a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate God’s blessing. We get to teach our children how to follow God’s blessing to care for the world. Since our teaching is influenced by the textbooks we use, it’s important to choose a homeschool curriculum that reinforces the truth of God’s creation blessing.

The Creation Mandate: What does it mean to be fruitful and multiply?

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In Genesis, God gave a mandate to humans—be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over living creatures. This command from God places the responsibility to take care of the earth and all its creatures on all generations. You may not know whether your child grow up to be a doctor, fireman, or astrophysicist, but we do know that it’s God’s will for every person—both old and young—to obey the creation mandate. As parents and teachers, it is our responsibility to teach our children what it means to be fruitful, replenish and subdue the earth, and have dominion over creation.

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Creation and education: Who am I and why am I here?

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As homeschool parents, God has given us a special job to do—to give our children a thoroughly Christian education. I know from experience that making education Christian can become superficial. But the good thing is that the Bible’s story of creation, fall, and redemption can transform our teaching.

Let’s take some time to meditate on the first part of that story, the creation account. There is so much relevant truth in the first two chapters of Genesis. But our focus today will be on how this account changes our Christian homeschooling. So while the record of the first five days of creation tells us a great deal about God and His Word’s power and faithfulness, we’re going to move quickly to the sixth day and the creation of man.

The Image of God in Man

Understanding the image of God in man is critical to our children’s education. They must know that they are special because they bear the image of God. Even after the fall we continue to bear His image (Genesis 9:6).

As a mirror reflects the image of its subject, so we finite beings can reflect God’s infinite glory in our lives. We might have been cracked by the fall, but we still reflect God’s attributes—though imperfectly.

This view of our humanity should alter the way we look at the academic subjects we’re teaching in our homeschools. For example:

  • In science, humans are not a part of the kingdom Animalia. In fact, we rule over the animals.
  • In history, all people groups are made in God’s image. That should shape the way we view institutions such as slavery.
  • In writing, human communication is significant because communicating with another image-bearer always reflects on God the Master Communicator.

The Creation Blessing

In Genesis 1:28, God blessed humans by calling us to fill the earth and to rule over it. God restated this blessing after the Flood (Genesis 9:1-7). This makes sense for God’s image-bearers. We should multiply so that we can reflect His glory all over His creation.

And as God’s special creation, we should have dominion. Dominion came before the fall, so we don’t need to associate it with cruelty. Rather, exercising dominion over God’s creation means wisely making the earth useful for people to live in.

The two aspects of this double blessing (filling and ruling over the earth) are inseparable. We cannot care for our growing families without pressing God’s creation towards its most useful state.

This blessing is so important in educating our children. How can we care for our families without mastering math? How can we interact with our neighbors without mastering language arts? When our children realize that all the effort they put into mastering science and math or studying literature and history is to fulfill God’s place for them in life, it won’t be a bore; it will be the blessing God intended it to be. That also means that we as parents need to show them the usefulness of this education with real-life learning.

Learning has meaning when we know who we are and why we’re here. God gave us a precious answer to these questions when He said, “Let us make man in our image” (Genesis 1:26).

The sad fact is that humans sinned. Even though we still possess the image of God and we’re still blessed to fill and rule the earth, things in this world are broken. The fall also changes the way we teach our children. But that’s for another post.

How to Homeschool Year-Round

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person writing in calendar

A few years ago, a friend introduced my family to the idea of a year-round homeschool. We had been homeschooling a couple of years on a traditional school schedule, and I was feeling very burned out. My friend shared how a year-round homeschooling schedule had helped her family, and, after some prayer and consideration, my husband and I decided to give year-round homeschooling a try. It was a complete game-changer for our homeschool, and we’ve been doing it now for four years. 

It’s hard to homeschool and keep up with all your other responsibilities such as laundry, housecleaning, cooking, medical appointments, etc. If you are struggling under the pressures of these and other obligations, you may want to consider year-round homeschooling too.

Learn more about year-round homeschooling

Snow Day Activities: Choosing Joy in the Winter

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snow flake for snow day activities
Snow fell for three days in a row, burying my yard in over two feet of dense slush. It was March, and I was ready for spring. But I had to dig out of more snow than I had seen in my lifetime! What an introduction to a Midwest winter. I grew up in the south, where snow days were too few. But I was not enjoying them as an adult. Maybe you have read this anonymous quote, “If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.”

Instead of letting winter weather get you down, find ways to keep learning. Enjoy God’s winter creation like you do the other seasons. It would be easy to let winter keep you from restarting school after the break. Ease into it, and choose joy in some of these winter weather learning opportunities. Every subject has winter learning potential.

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