Well, I didn’t intend to extend this series this far, but God’s focus on the process of teaching and learning is something I find compelling, and I didn’t want to leave it without briefly addressing one more aspect. There’s a basic principle that God consistently emphasizes in His approach to education that we seem to minimize or neglect altogether, especially in areas that are foundational in our spiritual development. The erosion of that critical component has resulted in a plague of spiritual incompetence – and it’s costing us far more than we realize. 

The Journey Begins ~
To illustrate this principle, I invite you to return with me to my first grade class. Granted, it’s a few years ago, but the lesson is unaffected by the years. If anything its image gets more distinct with time and its value becomes more obvious. My early exposure to organized educational fundamentals took place under the tutelage of a kind, energetic, lady we only knew as Mrs. Jenkins, whose job it was to begin to prepare us to take on the world. That task began by introducing us to the alphabet, which for us, was a bunch of symbols printed on square sheets of yellowing paper taped just above the huge chalkboard behind her desk. 

At that point, none of us understood how much those symbols could represent or how important they were to our future. All we knew at first was that we had to learn them all, and that seemed overwhelming. But then Mrs. Jenkins taught us a little song. In no time she had us smiling and singing the “Alphabet Song” and repeating all those letters like we’d known them all our lives. But learning to sing them was one thing, drawing them on paper was another story altogether. That took a lot more effort and a lot more time. 

Tablets, but No Graphics ~
The tools we were given to work with looked large and crude. The tablets in those days weren’t electronic and had no colorful animated images or convenient buttons to push. They were just plain, off-white pages with lines printed on them. The other instrument propelling us on our journey to literary proficiency was an oversized pencil with leads thick enough to withstand inexperienced hands that would press too hard. That was all Mrs. Jenkins needed to launch us into the next phase of our quest to be readers of stories and authors of books. But now it was time to stop singing about the alphabet and drawing it on the chalkboard. It was time for education to get physical. 

Our task was simple. We were to draw in our tablets the letters we had learned, just as Mrs. Jenkins had demonstrated on the chalkboard. And we quickly learned that doing it correctly once was not enough. Practicing the process seemed to go on forever. And as if the hours working on them at school wasn’t punishment enough, we were introduced to a torturous concept called homework. Mrs. Jenkins was determined and relentless in her efforts to move all of us toward being competent readers and writers. We didn’t make it easy, I’m sure, but she hung onto that vision like a hair on a greasy biscuit. 

Irrelevant Discussions Denied ~
Those fundamental lessons I learned in 1st grade aren’t new to any of us. Reminders that the lesson hasn’t been learned until we master the physical application of the lessons shouldn’t be needed. But there’s another interesting thing from 1st grade that bears mentioning. When Mrs. Jenkins gave us a writing assignment, she never asked how we felt about any of the letters or words we were directed to write. She seemed to have no interest in what our opinion about any of them happened to be. It didn’t seem to matter to her that I thought some of those letters looked ridiculous.

Take the weird looking letter, Q, for instance. That little squiggly piece hanging down on the bottom just screams negativity – and it’s bothersome. But did I ever get to point that out? Of course not. Did I get to discuss how much more optimistic and positive a Q would look if it was happily waving its little squiggly thing up on top, or even poking out of its right side? No chance. But would any of that irrelevant junk have made me any more proficient at printing it on a page? Again, absolutely not. And thank God, Mrs. Jenkins knew that her job was to make me a writer, not a critic. 

Deeper Learning Going On ~
But as I was learning to do that simple, repetitive task, there was other learning going on that I never imagined at the time. As I moved from drawing block letters on the pages of those tablets to gradually transitioning to cursive and using ordinary pencils and regular notebook paper, I was learning something on a different level. A physiological marvel called fine motor skills was being developed. And along with that, something called hand-eye coordination was being refined. Mrs. Jenkins’ faithful oversight, fairness in judging my work, and holding me to the required standards taught me more than the superficial elements involved. She helped lay the groundwork for what responsibility and accountability were all about. As I struggled to form and shape the alphabet according to what I’d been shown, God was at work forming and shaping me according to what He had designed me to be.

So, the basic lessons about educational fundamentals are as obvious today as they were when Jesus taught them. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 4-7), He condensed one of the primary principles into two statements that we’re all familiar with. He said:

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24) NKJV

But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (Matthew 7:26) NKJV

My purpose today is not to wade into another discussion about there being too many hypocrites in our churches and/or too many people claiming to be Jesus’ followers, but not practicing the things He taught. What concerns me, and should concern all of us, is that there is an incredible wealth of things Jesus wants to teach us, but it cannot be found by attending another denominational convention, or sitting through another Bible study seminar, or getting another shot of ‘holy adrenalin’ at a praise and worship session. Jesus doesn’t just want us to learn what to do. He wants to teach us things in the doing of them that He cannot impart otherwise. 

Active Application Is Required ~
To think we can grasp the wealth of understanding He wants us to learn about compassion, for instance, by watching films of people in need is both ridiculous and insulting. Are we so foolish as to think we can learn what it’s like to have faith overcome fear as long as we never undertake anything for God that seems risky? Do we expect to experience the strength that comes with humility as long as we’re dishonest about our own failures or blame them on others? How do we ever really know the peace that comes with the confidence of His power if we almost never acknowledge it outside of a church service? Why should we expect to experience miraculous interventions and victorious deliverance if a lottery ticket holds more real hope for us than our prayers. 

Our education ought to be higher indeed, especially when Jesus is doing the teaching, but it cannot achieve the heights He wants unless and until we allow Him to meet us in the doing of the lesson and not just in the hearing of it. In light of that, there’s no better way to close out this series than with this profound admonition from Jesus’ half-brother, James: 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (James 1:22–24) NKJV

And we might just add this to James’ comment … That guy went away having learned nothing. 

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “Mrs. Jenkins helped lay the groundwork for responsibility and accountability. As I struggled to form and shape the alphabet according to what I’d been shown, God was at work forming and shaping me according to what He designed me to be.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “There’s an incredible wealth of things Jesus wants to teach us, but they’re not found in the expected venues. He doesn’t just want us to learn what to do. He wants to teach us things in the doing of them that He can’t impart otherwise.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “Are we so foolish as to think we can learn what it’s like to have faith overcome fear as long as we never undertake anything for God that seems risky?”@GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • “Why should we expect to experience miraculous interventions and victorious deliverance if a lottery ticket holds more real hope for us than our prayers?” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • “Our education ought to be higher indeed, especially when Jesus is doing the teaching, but it cannot achieve the heights He wants unless and until we allow Him to meet us in the doing of the lesson and not just the hearing of it.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

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