Be a disciple, be a self-learner

The person who can read and doesn’t read has no real advantage over the person who can’t read. 

Be a self-learner of God.  Before we go any further, I want to take a moment to define what we mean by being a learner of God or knowing God.  This is not about acquiring massive amounts of data or information.  I have known people who, while living godless lives, have had extensive knowledge of the Bible and theology.  Knowledge or being a learner of God is an interactive relationship.  In the Bible, we hear that a man knew his wife and she became pregnant.  That knowledge is personal, detailed, intimate, and relational.  It was not simply a list of informative facts about his wife.  When we talk about being a self-motivated and self-determined learner of God, this is the kind of knowledge of God we want.   

There are two dangers for every disciple in the area of being a learner. Either of these are devastating for our life as a disciple.  Both of these dangers represent an effective end of being a personal learner, and both are tragically common in many churches and for many Christians.

The first danger is  to allow someone else to be the sole source of learned material.  Think of the person who attends services, but never reads or studies the Bible on their own.  I have had people tell me that they don’t study or read their Bible on their own because they trust me and like what I say.  On the one hand, I am honored by such confidence, but on the other hand I am deeply distressed by what is clearly misplaced trust.  No one should trust any one teacher exclusively.  And no one should trust any teacher more than the Word of God.  The level of Biblical literacy concerning basic information is indicative of how easy it would be to deceive many Chrsitians.  When church people place their trust on their leaders for truth they are not far from being groupees or cult followers.

The second danger is when we rely on what we learned in the past, in some cases, the distant past.  Think of the person who has never added to what they learned in their early years as a Christian.  I have known Christians and even Christian leaders who have not made it a point to study except for occasional teaching in years.  Even preachers are prone to depend on what we learned years ago.  Sometimes we learned the wrong stuff a long time ago and have held that belief for so long we believe it is the absolute truth.  Quick example, according to the blockbuster movie The Ten Commandments Moses was exiled from Egypt by Pharaoh.  No, that is not what happened.  But we learned that years ago and depending on the memory of what we once learned (incorrectly) we think that way.

To never stop being a learner of God is a delightful journey which we will never complete, but will become delightful as the years progress.  Make a commitment to be a self-motivated, self- activated learner of God.