Are We Students? November 8, 2014

¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
    on level ground!
Psalm 143:10 ESV 

I admit I have been guilty in the past of trying too hard to draw parallels between scripture secular activities/events.  I remember one time I tried to create this elaborate connection between football and the Christian life.  Bible = playbook.  God = Coach.  And so forth.  Luckily that was before the web, so no permanent record exists.

However, with today's verse, I once again find myself looking at a scriptural truth with a contemporary illustration.  Most likely I will look back on this in a few years and sheepishly hit the "delete" button.

David asks God to "teach me to do you will. . ."  This prayer is certainly in the will of God.  God is uniquely capable of teaching us about Himself.  So the barrier to learning about God is the student- us.

For the past 46 years I have been involved in education- either as a student, teacher, or principal.  There has not been more than a 3-month period of my life where I have not set foot inside a school building since I was five years old.  I know a thing or two about being a student and what it takes to be a good student.  (Although I was not always a stellar pupil.)

What is required of a student?

First--Sign up for the class.  To learn from God, one has to be a born-again Christian.  Those who don't acknowledge the divinity of Christ, believe in the atoning power of His death and resurrection, and claim Him as Savior do not have a seat in the classroom.

Second--Buy the textbook and keep up with the reading.  God has revealed Himself and His plans for us in the Bible.  Highlight, take notes, use Post-its.  Treat the Bible as you would any textbook.  It is not meant for the coffee table.

Third--Show up for class.  Whether it is a one-on-one tutoring session each morning, getting together with a small study group, or attending lecture each Sunday morning, attendance is a necessary component of spiritual growth.

Fourth--Study groups.  In effective classrooms, desks placed in neat rows are a thing of the past.  Students are placed in groups where discussion, disagreement, and interaction are encouraged.  The lone wolf Christian will likely see little to no growth. 
¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.  Proverbs 27:17 ESV

Fifth--Research shows that application of discussion/theory outside the classroom is imperative to high levels of learning.  Discussion, flow charts, simulations are designed to enable the learner to apply knowledge in the real world.  Are we putting ourselves in situations where God's promises and truths will stand the real-world test?

If, as David did, we wish for God to "teach (us) to do Thy will", we must be a willing student.  He is willing to teach.  Are we willing to learn?

P.S.  Happy birthday, Dad.