Education

The act of pruning requires cutting back (and off) the old to make room for new growth. As it relates to an understanding of faith, this process allows one to develop an interior life and cultivate the mind. Growing requires a desire to reach fresh understandings on old topics, and discover wisdom through study, reflection, and discernment. By removing (and reframing) the old, one can focus on nourishing the mind to experience intellectual freedom, so that the fruit born is visible and life-giving to others.

Gaining knowledge and insight provides opportunities to connect peoples and cultures in substantive and meaningful ways, as they continue to recognize and actively seek God’s will “on earth, as it is in heaven.” Pursuing knowledge is part of God’s plan for believers “in the world,” so that they can “live and walk in the way of insight.” Cultivating and strengthening the inner life involves using faith and reason simultaneously to make space for study and reflection, leading to deeper understanding.

Faith, in its original definition, is a combination of knowledge and trust, involving both human intellect and human will. Awakening to the conviction to think and engage equips believers to truly be salt and light to the world.