Take my yolk upon you and learn from Me ~Matthew 11:29
A large part of our christian walk is about learning. We study the bible, go to Sunday School, and debate theology with our spouses and friends. Knowledge is one way that we strengthen our faith as well as our trust in God and we are encouraged to pursue it. With knowledge comes the responsibility to act on what we know to be true. Taking responsibility for our failures, working with the Holy Spirit to correct ourselves, and doing God's will in a culture that does not value our faith can be difficult and humbling. Deepening our understanding so that we can increase our productivity in God's service can lead us into some difficult and frightening places. Sometimes we forget what a blessing it is to be in a constant state of growth.
As children we learn rules, both household and social. We go to school and get an education. Some of us chose college and continue our education but at some point we stop pursuing knowledge as a primary focus. We know enough to pursue a career so we set our sights on on our daily lives and on making our way in the world. We get in a rhythm, become comfortable with the expectations of society, and we stagnate. Some people continue to study all of their lives, but their end goal is usually to gain money or influence, or to “keep current”, their goal is not for knowledge itself. It is only in our spiritual growth that there is truly no end to our learning and to our growth. What a great blessing even when it hurts.
Outside the doors of the church lives a vast population of socially adept, comfortable and relatively happy people. They are not morally or ethically inferior to Christians, but without a relationship with Jesus they have no motivation to learn and to grow spiritually. They don't understand that the very concept of a “good person” is an oxymoron. If they heard someone make this claim, they wouldn't believe that it applied to them. Their finances are in order, their culture makes sense and they are respected by colleagues. It is only when they consider the point of it all that they feel uneasy.
Biology tells us that the point of life is to create new life. Poetry tells us to be insightful and expressive. Atheism tells us that we die and end and anyone who can't accept that is weak. These are not great points for a collection of self concerned individuals who face a 100% mortality rate. It is most comfortable to simply not consider the point of living and therefore, without knowledge of it, they are merely waiting to die. Their favorite photos, lovingly crafted scrapbooks, videos and journals are destined for the dump within two generations. When people promise at funerals “We will never forget you” that promise holds only as long as they live, which isn't for very long. Our names and our stories disappear from this world more thoroughly and more quickly than even the atheists admit.
How awesome to have a desire for knowledge that doesn't end when our secular education is complete. How inspiring to seek answers to the difficult questions of life that lead us to faith. How gracious of God to give us a textbook so complex that we can study for a lifetime and still have more to learn. How amazing to know a God that grants us eternity to learn about and to get to know Him and all of His creation!
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ~2 Timothy 3:16
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