Jesus: The Original Multi-Sensory Educator
Philippians 4:9 reads:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The two things that stand out to me in Philippians 4:9 are this. Paul is writing about multisensory learning. And, the bible continues to be the best parenting book on the market.
Multisensory instruction is a way of teaching that engages more than one sense at a time. (understood.org) Multisensory instruction is widely accepted as one of the best ways to learn new information. If you look further into the definition, the three primary senses instructed to are movement, hearing, and sight. Whatever you have…received from, heard from, or seen in me - put it into practice. Although Paul doesn’t specify “at one time,” he is writing about learning through multiple senses. While the research of multisensory instruction is linked back to Maria Montessori, Orton-Gillingham, Grace Fernald, and John Dewey; Paul was talking to us about it long before.
The Billy Graham Library is a multisensory learning experience. You literally experience Billy Graham’s life via a walking tour including all the sights and sounds. To paraphrase one of his quotes, Billy Graham said his life completely transformed the day he decided to believe everything in the bible is true. We, as believers, sometimes struggle with fully believing everything in the bible. Sometimes we are more comfortable believing just the bits and pieces that make sense, or the parts that are not socially charged, or the verses that support our current interests. Billy Graham preached on and believed the bible in its entirety. And if we choose to do the same, then the truth in Philippians 4:9 shows us God is going to try to reach us through all of our senses. He is going to teach us lessons that show us, tell us, and let us experience His truths. He makes himself available to us in what we see, what we hear, and what we do. And he does this all for the sake of His peace.
This is why I believe the bible is and continues to be the best parenting book on the market. Probably the number one thing I hear parents asking for and seeking is peace…peace in their homes, between their children, with their spouse, in their thoughts, and in their parenting efforts. Philippians 4:9 says if we put into practice what the bible tells us, the God of peace will be with us. The Bible provides the key to peace in our homes and is the ultimate parenting book because it is a collection of stories about a father deeply loving and pursuing his children and wanting to provide the best of the best for them. Not much different from our parenting efforts, right?
Today I encourage you to put down your phones, put down your parenting books, silence the voices in your head telling you you are not enough and pick up your bible and find your parenting lesson of the day. Then tune into your sensory system and listen and look and feel what God is telling you today. He always has a lesson ready, we just need to tap into our senses to gather it up and put it into practice.
God, thank you for designing us with a complex set of senses that allows us to receive you in many different ways. You care so deeply about each one of us that you have given each of us our own customized learning plan. Please help us recognize which senses you are working through and then how to put into practice the lessons you are teaching us. Thank you for giving us the ultimate parenting guide through the truths in the bible. Please help us embrace ALL your truths and not just the ones we pick and choose. Your goodness is so apparent in all that we see, hear, and experience. Thank you, Lord.