Curriculum and Nature

Today's educational curriculum begins with utility because the authors are agnostic about nature. The value and worth of a thing is tied to its utility, they would say. This explains debates about abortion, end of life care, and sex education. Beginning with the nature of a thing brings about far different ends. Education before Dewey had character development and wisdom as its ends. After Dewey, education was pursued for utilitarian ends. I fear the day when a man's value is discussed only by his contribution to society and not by who He is as a human being.

Agur's Experience with Wonder

Wonder is built into the fabric of the universe. Agur had an ability see the creativity of God in nature and to stand amazed at it. In a collection of his sayings in Proverbs, he lists four of his experiences with wonder:

• The way of an eagle in the sky. Eagles ride unseen thermals, defying gravity in effortless, playful circles. Who teaches them to frolic above the circle of the earth?
• The way of a snake on a rock. How do snakes move on slippery surfaces, change direction, shift speed, and coordinate every muscle in their bodies to get where they are going? They climb onto rocks to bask in the sun, enjoying the warmth and light provided by their Creator.
• The way of a ship in the midst of the sea. It took Matthew Maury in the 1800's to discover and map the currents in the oceans. His maps solved the mystery of pathways in the seas, currents that sped some boats along and stranded others to wait for the wind.
• The way of a man with a maid. Sex according to God's design is filled with wonder. Purity, security, openness, and satisfaction. All these and more are gifts of a loving Creator.

Agur sees the glory of God in the details, the hidden things, the secret things, the surprising design of God's world. In this world, God plays a game with us, concealing evidence of His power and creativity all about His world and challenging us to find it. "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings" (Proverbs 25:2).
In Christ, the wonder is not fleeting. We marvel at his kenosis, his willingness to give up his rights and privileges as God to display his inner nature of a Servant. What wonder will be ours at the parousia, when we shall see Him as He is, blazing eyes and iron scepter, the glory of God on full display. Praise the One who is wonder Himself!