The Illusion that is Milk Substitutes

(Warning – I may be about to burst your bubble.)

I need to call it out – Soy Milk is actually Bean Juice, Almond Milk is actually Nut Juice, and Oat Milk is … you guessed it, Grain Juice.

Put like that, they suddenly don’t sound so appealing.  Yet if you, like me, suffer from the cramping reality of severe lactose intolerance, these milk substitutes enable us to be socially acceptable, and enjoy our favourite coffee drinks – mine being a “magic” in the morning, a latte in the afternoon and a mocha in the evening – all double shot, should you ever feel the need to spoil me. 😉

Here's my first point – if I pick up the thread of my article last week “A Family Sedan is Not a Motorbike”, there are two observations I would make about the role of the parent-governed Christian school (our kind, that is – DCC’s type of school).

Firstly, as a school, we are not a substitute for church.  As a school community, we seek to be God’s people gathered well together, representing the best version of how God’s people should fellowship, thus bringing glory to him through this expression of community.  But, we are no substitute for church.  

We are not even an extension of a single church, or denomination’s ministry – we exist because Christian families saw it as necessary, founded us and passed that inheritance on through the generations of parents to our current group of approximately 1800 parents (a group that meet within 220 different Christian faith communities – churches and their congregations – in the outer Eastern suburbs of Melbourne).

Secondly, as a school, we are not a substitute for family.  There are functions we can perform which have us looking something like a “family”.  Our teachers act “in loco parentis” – in the position of parent – during class time. But, and it’s an important “but”, our teachers are not the parents of their students, and, accordingly, they work closely in partnership with the actual parents to ensure the closest match possible for these children to their home environment. 

There are times where we share the load, or step in temporarily – at the invitation of the child and the parents. But, we cannot and will not take on the role of family – God created the family to look very different to the way a school, because its role is to educate, has to look and operate.

Rather than the school being a substitute, we are here to serve – all families, where they are at, as they navigate being that in the light of how God has created them.  They seek fellowship with likeminded families at church – some may even also come to our school – but their first and most important biblical guidance and instruction comes from the church and its leadership; may it always be that way.  That way, we are true to the reasons we were established, and maintain good practices which ensure we are compliant to operate a registered school.

In conclusion, one further point. Sometimes, substitutes are better than the original thing.  In the case of milk substitutes, I happen to disagree, despite the health they help me to maintain.  Why do I feel this way?  Because they don’t really taste like milk … they pretend, but it’s pretty easy to tell the difference.

In terms of sport, sometimes I can agree that substitutes can be better than the real thing.  Case in point: in my 30 years as a soccer coach, I often kept a highly talented player on the bench, as a substitute, for tactical reasons; not to punish them, but to surprise the opposition at a key moment in the match. 

However, in the case of Jesus, I will 100% always agree that He is not only the best substitute, He is the only substitute for us – in terms of the sins we have committed, and His once, for all, all-sufficient sacrifice He endured on the cross.

Shalom.