By the end of camp, I was struck with something very special. I had witnessed faculty sharing the love of Christ with their students, hanging out with them, and genuinely enjoying their presence. In my head, I knew to expect this, but it still caught me off guard. In fact, I had to remind myself that this was a school. Why? Because this was not like the schools I attended in my youth. With only a few exceptions, my teachers had been far more distant.
I’m reminded that our God delights in His children. He not only loves us, He also likes us. So, as we approach our busy lives, we do so from a place of fullness. Through the finished work of the Cross, we are completely loved and totally accepted in His sight. We respond then out of love and gratitude and reverence, not from a sense of failure or desperate yearning for approval.
It is our desire that the students approach the school year in a similar manner, that all the students, knowing they are loved and accepted by their teachers, will respond out of joy. Not fear. Not obligation. You will hear me use the phrase, “Gospel in our motivation.” That means we want students motived by “good news,” not left struggling
to find it or wondering if it will ever come. The good news at the beginning of the school year is that they are loved and accepted. It’s a very important message because our rigorous academic program places strong demands on them. And, we believe they can accomplish far more from a place of fullness.
“… that you might have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:18-19
Stephen Sprague
Headmaster