LOVE is the reason, to LOVE is the purpose
Called to Care: Who is your neighbor? “The one who showed him mercy” “Go and do the same”–Luke 10:36-37 (YCS school theme 2020-2021)
The Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”—Luke 6:31 (YCS school theme 2021-2022)
“We love because God first loved us”—1 John 4:19 (YCS school theme 2022-2023)
LOVE is the reason, to LOVE is the purpose. For the past years love has been the theme of Yokohama Christian School. As a school, we were focused (and still are) on teaching students how to be kind, how to care, and how to fill other people’s buckets. This year, our school theme is still centered to this word. YCS’ definition of love is in line with what the Bible has to say. YCS teaches students that we love because God first loved us and with this love that we received, we ought to love others as well. To support our school theme and for it to make more sense to students, we tied it up to 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.
These Bible verses are the focus of our all-school worship that happens once a month. The passage is divided and are being taught to all students of YCS from preschool through elementary.
- Love is patient, love is kind
- Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud
- Love does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking
- Love is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs
- Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
- Love always protects, always trusts
- Love always hopes, always perseveres
- Love never fails
Our school theme came from the passage 1 John 4:7-21 and in verse 11 it also says “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another”. ONE ANOTHER is not limited to family, friends and classmates. It extends to people whom we don’t even know. This is another thing we want students to learn—Loving and showing compassion is not contained in a box. Few weeks ago, students had the opportunity to be part of the “Non-Perishable Food Drive” run by the Uenomachi Church. Students got to pack and sort foods to be distributed to families who are in need. They also got to write cards and decorate the bags for the families receiving it. This was a good experience for them to connect what they are learning in school and in worship
There are more ways students can learn and give meaning to our school theme and we hope that they remember and truly grasp the importance of loving one another.
