Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis. Written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, it stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, the story follows Marty McFly (Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Doctor Emmett “Doc” Brown (Lloyd). Trapped in the past, Marty inadvertently prevents his future parents’ meeting—threatening his very existence—and is forced to reconcile the pair and somehow get back to the future.
When life looks bad for us, we can’t fix the problem by hitching a ride to the past on a “time-traveling DeLorean automobile” like Marty McFly. We have to depend on present day resources or as we used to say back home, “go for what you know.” Which brings up an interesting question –what do we know? Has society schooled – trained – us how to handle life now and in the future? The annual migration of our children back to school is about to begin and can we – should we – depend on someone else to prepare our children for everything life will bring their way?Especially since we cannot accurately predict what life will bring.
Before society instituted Public and Private Schools, God instituted Home Schools.
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” Bob Tolbert.
Have you ever wondered how four teenage boys, Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego), were able to stand up to King Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man in the world at that time?
Pastor Morgan has been teaching on the life of Joseph. How did the teenager Joseph, develop a strong personal relationship with God that enabled him to trust and depend upon Him for deliverance while enduring several years of servitude and imprisonment?
Since the Word of God had taken root in the lives of these five individuals at an early age, it is obvious that some home schooling had taken place.
I read an article included on biblereasons.com titled, “Teaching Children.” The article referenced the quote from Bob Tolbert and the following:
· “If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.”
· “Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.”
Following these quotes, the article listed fifteen (15) scriptures related to teaching children. I’ll just share the first two.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 KJV
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words that I give you today. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. Write them down, and tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9
God’s plan for the education of our children starts in the home and is grounded in His Word.
Back to School. We should be engaged with our children’s secular education. To be competitive in today’s society, they need the skill sets being taught in our public, private, and instructions of higher education. But their education does not begin or end there.
Back to the Basics. Early in my Christian journey, I read a book titled, “Written by the Hand of God.” The content of the book focused on how our reluctance to adhere to The Ten Commandments contributes to the decline of the moral values in our society. God has given us what is necessary to establish a moral society. There is nothing new under the sun.
Back to the Future. Only God could create a society whose future success was tied to its past. Someone coined the phrase, “Hind site is 20/20.” By studying the Bible, we have the ability to look back to the life experiences of the men and women of God who lived thousands of years before us. Our “time-traveling DeLorean automobile” is The Bible – The Word of God. We can travel back to the life experiences of others and improve our future. “Life is a great teacher. First she gives the test – then the lesson.”
Written by Henry L. Hopson, Jr.