I was chatting with a friend over the weekend when we came to realise that our families share a similar history. My parents were not highly educated people, and mum was required to leave school at 15 to get a job as a stenographer so that she could help put food on the table for the rest of the family. Though my mum didn’t possess any formal qualifications, she was a wise woman. As I think of my upbringing, her words and actions would often guide and inform me in such a way that I was able to make good choices. I am so blessed to have had a mum who cultivated wisdom in our family.
There are many people in this world who, regardless of their level of formal education, understand and believe that the universe is made for wisdom and that to live effectively on this earth, to live a life of substance, we need to search for wisdom and cultivate it in our lives. These people have deduced through rational thought and intuition that without wisdom, life is more like a cage than a life to be lived.
As I reflected on this, Victor Frankl came to mind. He was a Jewish man who became a famous neurologist and psychiatrist. He was a survivor of the Holocaust and the horror of a concentration camp. Victor Frankl’s professional work led him to be the founder of logotherapy and existential thinking.
Sadly, Victor Frankl’s father died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto, and his mother, brother and wife all died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Throughout his years in the concentration camp, he gave himself to the task of finding out why it was, despite tremendous odds, some people survived these terrible camps while others gave up the will to live. He discovered through his observations and suggested that the reason why some people gave up was because they had no sense of meaning. Those who had a meaning or purpose to live for, such as the hope of seeing a loved one again, were able to keep going despite the greatest of odds, while those who could not find meaning or purpose perished.
Another Jew discovered this truth through a revelation: that in order to persist, all of us need hope. The other Jew I am referencing is the New Testament Apostle, Paul. He pointed to this great understanding when, sometime after meeting Jesus personally on the road to Damascus, he penned the words found in the New Testament book of Colossians (1:27): “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Paul’s revelation helped him grasp the eternal truth that while Christ with us is one thing, Christ in us fills us with hope.
This insight and understanding is truly transformational! It’s one of the reasons we see it as crucial to hold daily devotions with students at the start of each day. Through this sacred time, we are able to help the students understand and appreciate that they have something priceless at their fingertips.
As they listen to what is being shared with them, our hope is that students will engage with and embrace their faith, ultimately becoming followers of Jesus and understanding that their lives have hope and purpose. What a privilege it is to be able to share this wisdom by speaking into our students’ lives each day. It is a privilege we don’t take for granted.
Our prayer is that they may experience the joy of having Christ within, and that through His presence, they would have a hope that gives meaning to every moment of their lives.