Dear JWC family and friends,
February has some significant days, and I wanted to take a moment to consider them perhaps a bit differently than usual. Most of us look at Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day as three distinct events, but I wanted to consider them together and see what story they might tell us.
I’ll start with Presidents’ Day, which was established to recognize our nation’s leaders, but particularly Washington and Lincoln. Both men are known for sacrificial leadership and striving to hold up the ideal of what America could and should be. They were the leaders needed in their time. While we are not named after these presidents, our own namesake John Witherspoon also demonstrated leadership in the days of Washington. Our Nation continues to need strong, Christian leadership – not just in an office or a classroom, but within our society. This is why JWC desires Christ-centered leadership.
Let’s move on to Valentine’s Day. Valentinus was a martyr of the early church. The story goes that Valentinus healed the daughter of a Roman judge, and after being condemned to death, he wrote her a missive from “her Valentinus.” In other words, Valentinus was indeed a proponent of love, but not the romantic love we usually associate with Valentine’s Day. It was a love for his fellow humans -- both the judge’s daughter and the judge himself, who Valentinus also led to salvation. It was love for his Savior, Jesus Christ -- whom he would not renounce even to the point of death. A good example of the great commandments (Mathew 22:37-40) and an excellent example of the love that characterizes the Christ-centered living that we expect of our students, faculty, and staff at JWC.
Before discussing Groundhog Day, let me address our third JWC pillar: Christ-centered learning. This is the core purpose of an institution of Christian higher education and is directly expressed in the living and leading of our people. This is more needed now than ever in our nation’s history. We needed Washington during the inception of our country, and we needed Lincoln as we tore ourselves apart. Today, we need knowledgeable Christians who maintain both intellectual integrity, critical thinking, and Christian values. This is our mission at JWC -- which brings us to Groundhog Day.
Right now, JWC leadership is asking for prayer and wisdom as we prepare for our Generation Six Forty fundraising event, consider our move to a new campus, and seek to grow our school for the good of the region and for the glory of our God. As we do this, there is a tendency to start “looking for a shadow” and – if seen – bemoaning an added length of “winter.” But we don’t need to do this, because we shouldn’t be looking down for a shadow, but rather upwards towards our Light. He is in control, and in Him, there is no darkness (1 John 1:5). We shouldn’t let visions of shadow be our guide. Jesus is our Guide -- the One who will bring about His will. Let us strive to live within it, through learning, living, and leading within the Christ’s grace.
