When I was a child we lived in a housing project in Niagara Falls, New York. There was a large field in the middle of all the housing units and this is where I spent a good portion of my time, especially in the summer. I roamed this field, caught bugs in it, climbed trees there, and played in it with my younger brothers and sisters.
In that time before Frisbees had been invented, like any other boy, I liked to make things fly. On rare occasions my dad would buy me a small airplane made out of balsam wood from the local store. I would spend hours trying to get it to make loops and other aeronautical maneuvers. Most of the time however I was relegated to throwing objects that I might find in the field - rocks, sticks, lids to tin cans or pieces of shingles. Being a good father, and me being a little reckless, he warned me about throwing things as they might end of hurting someone or breaking someone’s window. That was an expense our poor family couldn’t afford to incur.
Well one summer day, being quite bored, I came across some sort of object that I immediately converted into a projectile. No sooner had the object left my hand than I heard my name called. It was my dad and when he shouted my name the whole neighborhood reverberated with the sound. I proceeded to go back into the house where I was given a spanking. After a prudent amount of time had elapsed, I was allowed to go outside once more. A little while later, I came upon another object on the ground and couldn’t resist the temptation to throw it into the air. Once again I heard my father’s stern voice calling me. Back into the house I went where I received another spanking. At some later point in time I managed to be let free to wander outside once more. Would you believe that I found something else on the ground that caught my interest? Looking carefully around, left and right, and seeing no one else, I hurled the object into the air. A third time I heard my father yelling my name. Wow. There are times in our lives when our parents are just like God, aren’t there? Times when they seem to see everything, and hear everything, and know everything. It’s enough to frighten a young boy! Back into the house I marched where I was spanked once again. I can’t say that I remember many of the nondescript days of my childhood but this particular day stands out vividly in my mind. 3 spankings in the same day for the same offense. Call me a sloooow learner. (You could also call me rebellious or strong-willed but slow-learner will do for this post!)
Now that I am an adult, I feel that I am in a much better place. First of all, I try to think about the consequences of my actions before I do something. This, in itself, has been very valuable to me. Secondly, if I do make a mistake, I try to learn from it and not repeat it. I now consider myself to be a quick learner. In most things.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of spiritual lessons that I am slow to learn. I give in to lust, or worry, or pride, or selfishness and then God calls my name. I respond in repentance and forgiveness. Then I march right back out there and commit the same offense again. And again. And again. I guess that ‘slow learner’ stuff hasn’t been erased from all of my life just yet!
In some ways I guess that we can look at God as the Divine Disciplinarian - Someone who is always ready to punish sin wherever He finds it. But I also think that we can look at God as the Divine Teacher. In our lives there are plenty of lessons that He wants to teach us - patience, faith, perseverance, loving others, etc. When we learn these lessons He smiles and then takes us to the next level where the lessons are more advanced. However, if we are slow learners and don’t grasp what He is trying to teach us, He responds by giving us the same lesson over and over again until we finally learn it. He wants to make sure that no child of His is left behind. And even after we learn our lessons and advance in our walk with Him, occasionally He throws in a review just to make sure that we have the lesson down!
What a patient God He is. What a loving God He is. He never gives up on us. Quick-learner or slow-learner, it doesn’t matter to Him. He will continue to teach us, to train us, to transform us. Why? Because as Romans 8:29 tells us, “He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.” God wants us to become like Jesus - thoughtful, kind, pure, holy, loving and compassionate. That’s what I want as well. Well, I have to go. There is a lesson waiting for me that God wants me to learn.
Lord, thank you for the lessons that You constantly teach me. I know that they are a part of Your process of transforming me into the likeness of Jesus. Help me not to resist them but to learn them and apply them to my life. Help me to be a quick-learner! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In that time before Frisbees had been invented, like any other boy, I liked to make things fly. On rare occasions my dad would buy me a small airplane made out of balsam wood from the local store. I would spend hours trying to get it to make loops and other aeronautical maneuvers. Most of the time however I was relegated to throwing objects that I might find in the field - rocks, sticks, lids to tin cans or pieces of shingles. Being a good father, and me being a little reckless, he warned me about throwing things as they might end of hurting someone or breaking someone’s window. That was an expense our poor family couldn’t afford to incur.
Well one summer day, being quite bored, I came across some sort of object that I immediately converted into a projectile. No sooner had the object left my hand than I heard my name called. It was my dad and when he shouted my name the whole neighborhood reverberated with the sound. I proceeded to go back into the house where I was given a spanking. After a prudent amount of time had elapsed, I was allowed to go outside once more. A little while later, I came upon another object on the ground and couldn’t resist the temptation to throw it into the air. Once again I heard my father’s stern voice calling me. Back into the house I went where I received another spanking. At some later point in time I managed to be let free to wander outside once more. Would you believe that I found something else on the ground that caught my interest? Looking carefully around, left and right, and seeing no one else, I hurled the object into the air. A third time I heard my father yelling my name. Wow. There are times in our lives when our parents are just like God, aren’t there? Times when they seem to see everything, and hear everything, and know everything. It’s enough to frighten a young boy! Back into the house I marched where I was spanked once again. I can’t say that I remember many of the nondescript days of my childhood but this particular day stands out vividly in my mind. 3 spankings in the same day for the same offense. Call me a sloooow learner. (You could also call me rebellious or strong-willed but slow-learner will do for this post!)
Now that I am an adult, I feel that I am in a much better place. First of all, I try to think about the consequences of my actions before I do something. This, in itself, has been very valuable to me. Secondly, if I do make a mistake, I try to learn from it and not repeat it. I now consider myself to be a quick learner. In most things.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of spiritual lessons that I am slow to learn. I give in to lust, or worry, or pride, or selfishness and then God calls my name. I respond in repentance and forgiveness. Then I march right back out there and commit the same offense again. And again. And again. I guess that ‘slow learner’ stuff hasn’t been erased from all of my life just yet!
In some ways I guess that we can look at God as the Divine Disciplinarian - Someone who is always ready to punish sin wherever He finds it. But I also think that we can look at God as the Divine Teacher. In our lives there are plenty of lessons that He wants to teach us - patience, faith, perseverance, loving others, etc. When we learn these lessons He smiles and then takes us to the next level where the lessons are more advanced. However, if we are slow learners and don’t grasp what He is trying to teach us, He responds by giving us the same lesson over and over again until we finally learn it. He wants to make sure that no child of His is left behind. And even after we learn our lessons and advance in our walk with Him, occasionally He throws in a review just to make sure that we have the lesson down!
What a patient God He is. What a loving God He is. He never gives up on us. Quick-learner or slow-learner, it doesn’t matter to Him. He will continue to teach us, to train us, to transform us. Why? Because as Romans 8:29 tells us, “He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.” God wants us to become like Jesus - thoughtful, kind, pure, holy, loving and compassionate. That’s what I want as well. Well, I have to go. There is a lesson waiting for me that God wants me to learn.
Lord, thank you for the lessons that You constantly teach me. I know that they are a part of Your process of transforming me into the likeness of Jesus. Help me not to resist them but to learn them and apply them to my life. Help me to be a quick-learner! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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