Where I live, a new school year has recently started. The goal of formal education (whether public school, private school or home school) is that the students learn. Exactly what we hope they will learn depends on a lot of things. It begins with children, helping them learn basics like reading and arithmetic. But it isn’t only children who can or need to learn. Going to school continues, for many, well into adulthood.
In some places on this planet there are no schools to go to, or the schools are inaccessible due to poverty or other social barriers. These conditions are heartbreaking, but they are far beyond what a short posting like this one can address.
What we can do, is remind ourselves of an obvious truth: Going to school isn’t the only way we learn. We can learn by experience, we can have a mentor who guides us, we can investigate and discover on our own.
Jesus had a thing or two to say about learning. He commands his opponents, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ ” (Matthew 9:13) He’s clearly directing them to investigate on their own. (Later he will note that they fail to do so, Matthew 12:7.) In fact he will often rebuke them for not investigating the scriptures as they ought to.)
Now ask, “Might he say the same to us?” I hope not, but I believe we ought to think seriously about it.
Many come to Jesus to hear him, but that isn’t enough. He commands those crowds, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” (Matthew 11:29) Listening is essential, but it’s not just entertainment. We must actually learn from him. He offers to be our mentor. How amazing is that? How are we doing at taking him up on the offer?
The crowds, the disciples, even the opponents called Jesus “Rabbi”, teacher. During his ministry, that was in fact his job. Sent by his Father to teach God’s people. Mostly the crowds and opponents don’t learn, but the true disciples do. For them, he leads advanced courses, such as the Olivet prophecy. Concluding the prophecy, he says, “From the fig tree learn its lesson.” (Mattew 24:32) He expected them to be adept by this time at learning the meaning, not merely hearing, the parables. He has expectations of us, too, if we count ourselves among his disciples.
Again and again, we hear people successful in this life talk about commitment to “life-long learning”. They are correct—always wanting to learn more is powerful. Any time we figure we know it all, or know it “good enough”, we are going to stagnate, or worse. How much more, if we wish to be “successful” in spiritual things, must we commit to life-long learning?
The apostle Paul knew a lot—a lot more than me. But never stopped learning. He says it himself:
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13)
How did he learn this? The hard way, going through it. Learning by experience. How are we doing at translating difficult circumstances into real learning?
Learning isn’t limited to what’s in textbooks—including the Bible. Don’t get me wrong, we need to learn what’s in God’s primary text. But we can’t stop there. If we do, we’re just the crowds, hearing but not learning. Or worse, the opponents, who knew their scriptures exceedingly well, but failed to learn from them.
Jesus will help us understand those scriptures. He will be our mentor. And he has expectations that we will learn from what he says, and from what his apostles learned and passed on to us, and from the experiences—sometimes painful—that he puts in our path.
Life-long. Never done, in this life. Jesus is still saying, “Shoulder the yoke. Learn from me.”
Love, Paul