The Joy of Learning

Life in this world is temporary. It starts, and it ends. There are no exceptions. Those who have no hope outside of this existence seek to make the most of their time in this world in whatever way seems reasonable to them. But we who have the eternal hope of Christ's promises can see this life as a phase, a stage which leads to something more, something greater, something closer to the Father.

2 Timothy 2:15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.

One analogy we can use is to view this life as we would a school for learning spiritual things. For example, college is a place where every year new students make their appearance and older students are never seen on campus again. The new ones don't know much at first, and have to learn their way around, making acquaintances, and developing study habits.

Some students tend to focus exclusively on the campus life and social interactions or athletic competitions with no thought to what will happen when they are gone from campus. Others forego much of the celebratory activity because classes, assignments, studies, and projects occupy a lot of their time. That's not to say they isolate themselves or are stand-offish in the halls, the cafeteria, or the dorms; it is just that their priorities are set different and their time is focused on how their lessons will prepare them for the future.

The students who cut classes and ignore the faculty's assignments will often become well-known around campus for a while but the way they spend their time is often in ways that will ensure they leave campus prematurely. Others who may attend classes but give more attention to social interaction often are popular and end up with large followings of other students, frequently holding offices and heading student committees with many pictures and references in the yearbook. But when their time to leave the campus arrives, they find themselves ill-prepared for anything except campus life.

Those who have dedicated themselves to learning all that can be gained during this opportunity to grow and change and become proficient in a chosen field of study will be able to go equipped with the knowledge and the relationships that make them well-suited for the work which will occupy all of life that lies outside of the campus environment. Looking back, they may not have much more than a student photo in the yearbook, but they will have the best positions waiting for them when they leave the educational phase of their life and graduate into the real, working-life phase of existence.

This analogy can also help us see things differently in our own life. If we consider ourselves in school, in training, we will find that some classes we take will alternate between lectures and labs. While the lectures are rich with new ideas, stretching our minds to consider new concepts, we may find the labs or the field projects to be difficult. These are the times when we walk out the new information, practicing over and over what the lectures described, putting into action the concepts that were so delightful to hear, but somewhat awkward at first when we try to follow them or replicate the results we saw from the teacher.

Even as we long for the next lecture session when we can receive more new information, we need to remember that the time of practice is the most fruitful and gives the most personal benefit, even though we feel we can never manage the technique as well as we want, whether it is music practice, paint or sculpture assignments, welding or automotive repairs, or any of the many other fields.

Daily reading God's word, daily thanking and praising the Father, daily yielding ourselves to the Master who redeemed us, even though we receive no heart-to-heart communion on a particular day, we can still walk in the light that we were given, practicing mercy we have been given for those who need it, upholding justice for those who have been denied it as we have been defended, offering acceptance we have been afforded to those who have felt rejection.

Each time, as we step out in those lessons we have been given, as we offer God's love to others, we are helping ourselves become conformed into the image of the Son by the transforming power of the Spirit. We find that doubts and struggles do not disappear when we walk closely with God, but their effect on us diminishes as we press forward on the path God gives us. We realize that it is not our performance in life that gives us confidence in God, but His love and forgiveness in Christ. We have to earn our own grade, but our tuition has been paid in full.

Psalms 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.

Father, thank You for the constant work of Your Spirit in our lives. The times of communion with You when You touch our hearts and give us new understanding are times of closeness we treasure, Lord. Thank You, also, Father, for the times when we seem to be without a new word or a fresh insight, for those are times when Your word is being embedded in our hearts, hidden against all thieves, made a part of us as we walk out each day. Your mercies are new every day, Lord, and Your presence is with us whenever we turn to You. Thank You for giving us just what we need at the time we need it!

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