2025.10.21 Knowledge and Love
Notes
Transcript
Knowledge and Love
Knowledge and Love
Congratulations to those graduating today!
You have worked hard for a long time and today you are permitted to celebrate your achievement! You have completed the course at New Hope Education Centre! Congratulations! Congratulations!
Some of what I say today will be specifically to those graduating … but I will also talk a bit to the parents and families.
In the United States, we have a saying: “Knowledge is Power”
Education enables a person to take control of their life in ways they wouldn’t have been able to without knowledge.
When your community needs leaders, they will look for someone with knowledge to lead them.
When your family needs help, your knowledge will empower you to help.
When your life seems to be filled with problems and troubles around every corner, your knowledge will help you see a view larger than just your troubles, so you can find your way.
I don’t know the education plan in Kenya, so I’m not certain about all of the subjects you studied, but I would imagine you studied language and grammar - likely in English and Kiswahili:
(If using a translator … point it out)
None of your other education can happen if you don’t know how to speak the language. And speaking properly tells everyone you are educated and can be valued in discussions.
You will be able to communicate concepts, ideas, and even emotions with the world around you in two languages! Your language skills may seem small in this moment, but in your future … you may find yourself, like me, halfway around the globe encouraging others with your language and grammar skills.
In the United States, our Primary Schools teach our children one language. We attempt to teach other languages in secondary schools. It is much more difficult to learn another language as an older child or an adult. You have a great advantage learning two languages here at New Hope at such a young age.
I’m sure you learned your maths here. Learning 2+2 may seem very simple. But simple addition and subtraction build to multiplication and division. Those build to algebra and geometry and other advanced maths. Maths give power to our buildings, and roads, and bridges. The computers you used in classes all operate on mathematic principles.
Even problems in life can sometimes be solved with a mathematical approach.
I’m sure you learned social studies at New Hope - topics like history and government. I love history, but I understand a lot of people think history is boring. Learning how the government functions is dull to some people. But knowledge is power! Knowing history will help you avoid past mistakes and build upon past successes. If you know how the government functions, you can activate government services to help your community in times of trouble and disaster.
You probably learned creative arts of some kind. I said earlier that your language skills would empower you to communicate emotions. Sometimes the method of communicating those is stringing words together to express a feeling. Sometimes, those words are put to music. I play the guitar and sing. I could speak a thousand words, and some would not understand. But a song touches peoples’ hearts .. or a painting or drawing.
Your abilities may be fundamental now, but they give you power to move to secondary and higher level abilities.
You learned about physical education. You learned how to treat each other fairly on the athletic field; how to follow the rules of the games. You learned how to work as a team. These skills will be useful the rest of your lives.
You also learned that the human body was made for motion. Our bodies grow tired and sick if we do not move and exercise. Movement and exercise is not just playing games … it’s maintaining the body you’ve been given.
And here at New Hope … you learned about Jesus. You learned that the world around us is broken, but it wasn’t designed that way. It was designed perfect … orderly, and humans allowed chaos to come in.
You learned that Jesus Christ is God’s son, and that he came to rescue us from that chaos. God’s fingerprints are all over his creation.
In learning these other subjects … you are actually studying God. Genesis begins: “In the beginning was chaos” … and God created order, and he planted his image within each human being.
In studying language and grammar, you are studying that God communicates his love with us. You learn that you have the ability to communicate His love to others. You learn that language has structure and rules, and that following that structure and rules gives you power to communicate! Following God’s structure and rules gives you power to experience and communicate his love for others.
Speaking of rules and structure, learning maths and science is studying the foundation of God’s created order. We talk about the “natural order” of our world. That natural order was established by our God, our Creator. So, the animal kingdom has structure so that all of creation can continue. Maths explain the basics of our world. And studying the basics of this world is also studying the character of the God who created the structure of this world.
Physical education specifically learns about the magnificent bodies God gave us. Some of the movements you learned will help you survive in this world. Some of them will just help you hit a ball against someone else’s head. :) But the knowledge of caring for our bodies and following the rules of various games reflects that our God is not a god of chaos, but of order!
Social Studies helps you see what happens when humans operate on their own desires instead of God’s desires. Studying history helps us see where humans have gone right and gone wrong in the past, so we can choose to go right in the future. God is the one who defines right and wrong. So, following God’s desire will write a history that has more right turns than wrong ones.
And when people can’t understand your words, perhaps they can understand your creative expression.
Psalm139 says that God put us together in our mother’s womb. Your God put everything inside you that’s there.
Today, you celebrate advancing in your education. That is SO important! But make sure you keep it in proper perspective. Because knowledge alone is not real power. Placing knowledge in the context of God’s creation … THAT is real power.
Understanding that God created every human being … including your worst enemy … and you: that’s power. Knowing that in the book of Job, God bragged to Satan about what he had created in Job … and understanding that your God is proud about what he has created in you! That’s power!
Knowing that if you were to walk into Heaven today, your picture would be hanging on God’s wall, and that he would take any visitors to that picture and gloat about how incredible you are as his creature. That’s power!
Knowledge can indeed be powerful. But let me caution you that knowledge outside of God will not empower you, it will make you arrogant. Because knowledge is only one tool in God’s created order.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 8:1
1 Now concerning [this issue] (food sacrificed to idols), we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies.
Knowledge makes us think highly of ourselves. Love actually builds us up.
You’ve learned your maths (balloon), your social studies (balloon), your English and Kiswahili (balloon), you’ve taken physical education (balloon), learned about being creative (balloon). You’ve learned how to use a computer (balloon), and how the scientific world functions (balloon), and that knowledge can easily puff you up. But without love … [POP]
Today is an important day. You have worked hard and achieved this graduation. But the knowledge you’ve gained will only impact you … unless you partner knowledge with love. Knowledge partnered with love is unstoppable in building strong individuals, strong neighborhoods, strong communities, and strong nations.
Later in that same letter, Paul says:
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!
10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
The greatest lesson you will ever learn in life is to love God and love your neighbor.
The greatest of these … is love. So, use your knowledge to love God and to love your neighbor.
God bless you and congratulations!
