God's Plan For Spiritual Learning
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesGod’s prophet Jeremiah wrote the following inspired words over two thousand years ago:
“Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.” But they said, “We will not walk in it” (Jeremiah 6:16).
There many great spiritual lessons we can derive from this one verse, but in this short article, let’s consider the following thoughts regarding God’s plan for spiritual learning:
“Stand in the ways and see” — If we want to learn anything, we have to go where the information is — to “stand in the way” where that knowledge travels. For example, if we were interested in improving our math skills, we wouldn’t sign up for an English class. We would need to enroll in a math class, because that is the “way” in which math knowledge would be distributed.
Once in the right “way,” we need the ability to “see” — to open our eyes to the instruction being given. If we wanted to learn more about math, just being in a math class would give us very little math instruction unless we opened the textbook, studied the lessons, and did the homework exercises.
“Ask for the old paths” — Adequate learning is facilitated by our willingness to receive instruction from someone who has been studying the subject longer than we have. An individual might be able to teach themselves mathematics, but they would gain that knowledge more rapidly by studying with a knowledgeable math teacher. Fortunately, mathematicians have been kicking numbers around for thousands of years, so everything we would ever want to know about math is already out there in “the old paths” of math instruction — we just need to ask someone to point us in the right direction.
“Where the good way is” — Here’s where matters can get complicated. If we want to learn math, even enrolling in a math class, studying diligently, and making use of the available instruction isn’t enough. Unfortunately, there are good math teachers and poor math teachers. If we were tutored by a math teacher who didn’t know any more about math than their students, we would find ourselves no better off than when we started, or worse, hopelessly confused. We need to seek out a good math teacher, one who really knows his or her subject — one who understands the subject material backward and forward, and will teach us “the good way” as it pertains to mathematics.
“And walk in it” — Our long-term success in any study of math, depends upon our putting into action what we learn. Many of us have taken algebra or geometry in high school, but can we solve an algebra or geometry problem today? Most of us don’t have the ability to do so, because we haven’t used any higher math in our everyday vocation. We didn’t “walk in it,” so all of our learning received years ago has little or no practical value for us at all.
What is true of mathematics, is even more true of spiritual truth. If we want to know more about God and His word, we have to “stand in the way” where the knowledge of God and His will exists, and “see” what is there to be discovered. We can’t make it up as we go along (even though some very “religious” folks try). Rather, we must be willing to “ask for the old paths” and be instructed as to what God reveals to us in His word (2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV). We must make certain we are taught in “the good way,” and the only way to do that is by comparing what we are taught by the holy Scriptures (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).
“You will find rest for your souls” — As we learn from God’s written Word, we must be willing to implement the spiritual wisdom we learn, and diligently “walk in it” (cf. Luke 11:28; James 1:22). Only when we make daily personal application of God’s plan for spiritual learning, will we truly find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29).