Recently, for an upcoming Chapel talk to the upper elementary students, I found myself struggling to explain truth, goodness and beauty. At first, I foolishly thought this will be no problem. Then it was 11:30 at night, and I was still staring at my screen. How to make concrete what is so abstract? I found myself thinking through questions like, how do we know truth when we see it? What is truly beautiful, and how do we know? What if depictions of the ugliness in the world are truthful? Can a story about someone doing the wrong thing be a “good” story? And finally, how can all this be explained to a nine-year-old?
It is usually about this time that I start turning to minds much better than my own. In Romans, it tells us that God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen in the things that He has made. So, looking at His creation we see the standard of truth, goodness and beauty—the perfection of God. So how do we measure against this standard?
Just as what God makes comes from who he is, what man makes comes out of his worldview. When we look at a piece of art, or listen to a selection of music, or read a novel, we can ask, “What is this author saying about the world? Is what he is saying true? A movie where everyone dies, or a novel where all is lost, doesn’t represent what is true—that there is hope in the world. Everything isn’t ugly, or bad, or hopeless (as many modern artists seem to assert) because God has saved us from death through Christ.
At the end of the day, I realized that none of us can simply explain truth, goodness, and beauty. We need to experience it. Therefore, we want to put the true, good, and beautiful before our students constantly and teach them how to discern it for themselves. For example, our seniors recently returned from Europe, and they will all attest to the transforming power of that trip. No book, or lecture series, picture book or HD movie could substitute for being there, seeing with their own eyes, and experiencing the culture in person.
So in my Chapel talk, I can put up some pictures, include some Scripture, drop a few good quotes, and perhaps teach them to discern a little better. But, their best hope lies in experiencing for themselves these virtues and the Author of them. The point of truth, goodness, and beauty is that an honest pursuit of them will lead one to Christ, and knowing Him (not just knowing of Him) is our greatest hope for our students.
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6
Jennifer Cable
Elementary Principal