The pencils are sharpened, the curriculum has arrived, and the plastic supply box still has that new-Crayola smell. Everyone is excited, the menu and chore chart have not yet fallen off the rails, and school is about to begin! Did you remember to bring your first fruits?
In the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded to perform a sacrifice of the first fruits. “First fruits” were literally the first fruits of any harvest. They were given primarily for three reasons: in humility, remembering what God had delivered them from; in thanksgiving, acknowledging God’s gracious supply; and in hope, faithfully looking to the Lord to provide for the future.
Deuteronomy 26 beautifully outlines the heart behind the offering:
And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: and the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: and the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God: and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. (Deuteronomy 26:5-11 KJV).
As we sit to begin our first school day, we are in the presence of some of His very best blessings; our children. In humility we understand that without Him, our hands so full with teaching and work would be so desperately empty. With thanksgiving we can see that who our children are in the present is only made possible by the gracious provision of God.
But perhaps most importantly we rest in the knowledge that our childrens’ futures are not hoped for in the newest curriculum or in experiences or even in the very best that we as parents can provide, but that our hope is in Jesus Christ, the first fruits of the resurrection:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 KJV).
The best thing that we can do to start this school year is to bring the first fruits of our homeschool to Jesus in prayer; to humbly remember that without Him our children and our opportunity to homeschool are not possible; to thank Him for the wonderful, unique, fearfully-made people that they are;
And to point them to Jesus Christ, who truly is our only Hope and Trust, and in whom a weary, worried mama can cast all her cares and find comfort, wisdom and peace.
May God richly bless you this school year!
Love,
Sandra
