58 - Lifelong Learners

Learning is hard work. Anyone who’s gone to school knows that. Using our brains is like exercising a muscle; it grows tired when it’s overworked and weak when it’s left idle. The school system in our country requires us to study until we reach a certain age, and many people will keep on studying for a few years after that in order to get a better job. But sadly, in the minds of some, once they’re through with school, the season for pushing their brains to learn new ideas comes to an end. The assumption is, we’ve had a lot of information poured into our minds during our school years, and after graduation we enter the season of life when we draw on that pool of information whenever we need it. The problem with that approach, of course, is that our memories decay over time, and if we don’t keep using the knowledge we learned, we soon forget most of it. We may have gotten an “A” on the final, but six months later we can barely remember half of what we once knew.

You might think spiritual knowledge is different from this, but it’s not. We quickly discover that as soon as we stop going forward in our knowledge of God and His Word, we start sliding backward. It seems there is no plateau; it’s either uphill or downhill. In spiritual matters, just like any other area of life, it takes self-discipline and hard work to keep going uphill, which is why some people stopped learning a long time ago. Growing spiritually simply required more than they wanted to give.

But there are others who have the necessary attitudes and inner motivation to keep growing. In fact, some people are still growing when they die. That kind of individual never puts limits on themselves. They don’t decide they’ve outgrown the season for learning. And in every case they’re not mentally lazy. They’re willing to put in the time and energy to investigate a matter. They’re always reading something; they’re always stretching spiritually to walk at a deeper level with God (Php 3:12-14). You might suspect that someone like that was motivated by pride, but they never are. Proud people decide they already know way more than they need to, and stop growing early. In order for someone to keep growing for a lifetime, they must be willing to work hard year after year, decade after decade; and people only do that for one reason: They’re driven! And I think the only force that can drive someone for a lifetime is love. Not even hate has such power. A person can fall so deeply in love with something or someone that they never feel they know enough or have drawn close enough. And there are people who love God like that. Paul met some of them in the city of Berea.