Always More to Learn

It’s the start of a new school year and my youngest daughter is a senior at Iowa State.  She recently sent me a picture of her on her “last first day of school.”  But we all know that even when formal schooling may be completed, there is always more to learn.  Did you catch the word, “always?” 

The Bible tells us that as Jesus was growing up, his family took annual trips to Jerusalem. While they were there, Jesus sat in the Temple talking with the elders.  He asked them questions, listened to their answers and responded to their questions.  We read that during those early years, “…Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52).  Jesus must have had to learn the ways of God through his reading of the Scriptures and in his conversations with others.  Throughout his ministry he continues to teach and learn about other people by asking them questions such as “what do you think?” and “Who do people say that I am?”   

We also have a lot to learn from God.  And we also have a lot to learn from other people.  To learn from someone else requires a relationship.  We can have a relationship with God at any time and in any place with whatever background or knowledge that we have.  But to learn from other people and for them to learn from us we have to be in a relationship with them.  And by a relationship, I mean a conversation.   

My brother is a school superintendent. In his setting they use the terms, “digital immigrants” and “digital natives.”  The point is that we now live in a digital electronic world.  Some of us are “digital immigrants” in that this is not the world we grew up in and much of it seems foreign to us.  Younger people are the “digital natives” because this is the only world they have ever known and they are completely comfortable in it. 

 

A major challenge facing many churches today is that for older folks to have a relationships with younger folks, we have to be able to speak their language and gather in the places where they gather.  If people won’t come to the “temple” (church building) we will need to go out to them.  When they do come, we need to be able to engage them in a language that they can understand.  I am often asked by older church members, “How can we get younger people to come to church?”  I have offered them another question in response: “How would you get a young person to watch Lawrence Welk?”  If your church worship relates well to a “Lawrence Welk” mindset, what do you expect?  I have used this illustration with some young people and the response I received was, “Who’s Lawrence Welk?” 

We all have more to learn.  And for us to learn from each other we need to be in a relationship and conversation with each other.  For me, I’m still trying to learn how to make use of use Twitter, Facebook and the various forms of social media.   I do it because I want to connect with my grandkids and the next generation.  

I invite you to join me in continuing to learn new ways of sharing the stories of our lives and God’s love.  I believe we learn best when we learn together.   At times it can be tiring, but remember, there is always more to learn.  That’s what makes a new school year and each new day exciting.