The other day I ran into someone I had not seen in a long time and they asked me this question, “What is God teaching you?” It is one of those questions that can easily be blown off if you speak fluent “Christianese.” Personally I didn’t know how to respond because of the vast measure of what God has been teaching me. As I left I thought of this, in order to be taught, you must be teachable.
It is a simple statement for sure, but gives way to another question, what makes you teachable? The fact that God is gracious enough to teach us anything is overwhelming to think about, but in order to grasp the lessons of God; we must be a humble pupil. For the humble student who admits their inadequacy is the student who will learn the most. But the student who professes prominence, is the student has learned nothing at all.
Proverbs26:12 says, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” The person who believes knowledge is king is just a jester in his own court. For knowledge is nothing without the wisdom of how to use it. The Lord has graciously given us the knowledge of his word, but if it does not produce humility, it is meaningless. Why? Because it was never applied, for when we apply the wisdom of God we not only see the inadequacy of ourselves but the insurmountable grace that God has given to us, as he saves us and sanctifies us.
Psalm 86:11 speaks directly to this, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I many walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” This is the end result of all that God teaches us. Not to flaunt our biblical knowledge towards others but to be awestruck by the person of God. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” Why do we fear? Because we are humbled.
So when asked the question, “What is God teaching us” we don’t reach into the recess of our knowledge, but rather we dig into the area of which we have been most humbled. Thus true wisdom is the admission of a humble inadequacy before a holy God. But why are we humbled and why do we fear? Because we love Him who first loved us.
The one who is only the teacher and never the pupil, the one who is always convicting and never convicted, and the one who always has the answer and never has a question is the one displaying his lack of love for the great Teacher. But the one who is always the pupil, always convicted, always questioning, and always admits when wrong, is the one who loves the teacher. May we never forget the humble fear we are to have before our holy God. For it is love that abounds when the teacher teaches, and the student listens, and is humbled by the lesson.
