Insights

This week, I spent several days with school leaders from across the country discussing crisis management. One theme consistently rose to the surface: redemption.
 

While we strive to prevent and mitigate crises, we must also accept a sobering truth, brokenness will reveal itself. Crisis is inevitable. That’s why it is essential to prepare our hearts, minds, and habits to respond in a way that leads to redemption and restoration.
 

Our response to crises can either deepen the darkness or point others to Jesus. We are called to shine LIGHT into a dark world.
 

Regardless of your perspective on Charlie Kirk’s politics, one cannot deny the redemptive focus displayed by Ericka Kirk in the face of grief. “On the cross our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ That man. That young man. I forgive him,” Kirk said when discussing her husband’s killer. This is a beautiful example of Gospel-centered hope in the midst of loss.
 

Now, contrast that with the words of a principal following a recent school shooting: “There’s nothing about today that can fill us with hope.”
 

While we can all empathize with the heartbreak behind that statement, we must also recognize a missed opportunity, a moment when hope could have been spoken. Even in our darkest days, we are not without hope. In addressing a broken world, especially with our students, it is our responsibility to point them toward redemption, to help them see the light.
 

First, our children must understand the overarching story of Scripture.

• In the beginning, God created everything, and it was very good (Genesis 1–2).
• In Genesis 3, brokenness entered the world when humanity turned from God, choosing selfishness and sin. That was the moment that crisis became a reality.
• But by His grace, God provided a path to redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

From Genesis 4 through Revelation 20, the Bible tells the story of redemption, from prophecy to fulfillment, from brokenness to rescue.
 

Once children understand this grand narrative, we can help them recognize ways to participate in redemption today. When darkness emerges, ask them: How can what has been broken be redeemed?
 

Sometimes, you and your child may be able to take tangible steps toward healing or restoration. Always, we are called to pray: "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Romans 8:28 reminds us: “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
 

Scripture is full of crises, and the redemptive work of God through them. Consider Joseph: betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, imprisoned. Yet, God used his suffering for good. Joseph told his brothers:
“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Genesis 50:20)
 

Ultimately, full restoration will come only when Jesus returns and reigns over His eternal Kingdom (Revelation 21–22). That promise gives us lasting hope, even as we engage today in the work of redeeming what is broken.
 

When discussing difficult topics with your children, consider these four guiding questions:

1. How was it created good? (Creation)
2. How was it broken? (Fall)
3. How can it be redeemed? (Redemption)
4. What will it look like when it’s fully restored? (Restoration)

In a world full of brokenness, we are not left adrift. We have hope. We have a Redeemer. And we are invited to be agents of restoration, shining light in the darkness, proclaiming with confidence that He is making all things new!

Tammy McIlvoy
Head of School
Logos Preparatory Academy