Running Toward
It has been an incredible start to the school year, and I am so grateful for the grace and flexibility you have shown us as we continue to work to complete our construction projects. Whether it was a delayed butterfly release for our lower school, a delayed convocation for our upper school, or navigating the construction cones on Heritage Way, I am constantly encouraged by how this community comes together with such joy and unity. Thank you for making this one of the best starts ever to a school year!
As I shared with you on Parent Night, I believe this is going to be a year in which God moves mightily in the life of Heritage Prep. I have no reason other than a deep sense that God is only beginning to show His mighty hand. You need to look no further than the daily news to know that we desperately need Him to do so. As our country moves further and further into a post-Christian culture, we will need to raise up men and women of faith who are willing to engage that culture in a winsome yet confident manner. We need to raise up a generation who have eyes that see things differently and are willing to not simply survive in this culture, but instead have a faith that beckons them to engage it.
There is a story in the Bible that illustrates this, and you are very familiar with it: the story of David and Goliath. There is one particular verse, however, that has always stood out in that story, and it’s found in 1 Samuel 17:48:
So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
A shepherd boy, unskilled in war and without the protection of armor, does what an entire army of skilled soldiers was unable, or unwilling, to do. Why? Because David’s faith gave him a lens through which he saw things differently than did the army of Israel.
Israel saw a giant.
David saw an enemy of God.
Israel saw an insurmountable obstacle.
David saw an incredible opportunity.
Israel saw through fear-filled eyes.
David saw through faith-filled eyes.
Israel runs away.
David runs toward.
They both looked at the same situation and the same cast of characters…but they saw differently.
David saw an enemy of God and an incredible opportunity, so he runs toward.
These are no doubt interesting times, and we may find ourselves wanting to withdraw and give our culture over to its destructive mindset. We see a giant taunting us and think it may be better to simply retreat and head for the countryside. But I believe God is calling us to run towards it. What better place to do that than in the heart of Atlanta?
As we begin this 25th year of Heritage Preparatory School, I am asking God to give us faith-filled eyes so that when we look at what is happening around us, we resist the temptation to flee or retreat; instead, we run towards, confident that we serve a God who is bigger than any Goliath the enemy will send our way.
In Christ,
Matthew H. Skinner
President