Saturday, June 29, 2013

Am I Learning Impaired?

Sometimes I think I must have a spiritual learning disability—that I am unable to receive, process, and store truth. This happens more often than I’d like to admit. This last February, when I first spoke of my cancer, I confessed my greatest fear was not learning all that God wanted to teach me through this trial: a great loss if divine discipline did not result in righteous revelation. 

My inability to remember and respond has been evidenced through my impatience and petulance instead of faith and firmness.  I asked myself, “Am I learning impaired”?  Well, after a little biblical study, I’ve concluded that spiritual learning disabilities are universal. God continually told the Hebrews not to forget what they had learned (Deut. 4:9, 23; 6:12; 8:11). Solomon wrote, “My son, do not forget my teaching” (Prov. 3:2). Paul told Timothy to remind the believers of the things they had learned (2 Tim 2:14). Peter told his readers he would always be ready to remind them of the things they had learned (1 Pet 1:12).

Did they all have learning disabilities? No, they were just people just like us whose capacity for forgetting was greater than for remembering. No wonder Paul tells Timothy, “continue in the things you have learned” (2 Tim. 3:14).  Let us pray for each other that we won't forget to remember what we've learned.

2 comments:

  1. Greg,

    Those who study the human brain and its capacities recognize that we all have a complex "filing system" for retrieving information. And unless we actually suffer an injury in the memory part of our brain we will always have the capacity for accessing those things we want to remember. But we must practice using this recall ability or it will take more and more effort to do so.

    That said, God knows our frame--"that we are but dust"--and that we need our own personal system for keeping His Word and words to us fresh. When my mind is/has been most cooperative with this task has been when I put to practice Paul's admonition in Phlp.4:9-- "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."

    "Learned"--focused upon, applied oneself to, engaged the mind in the direction of, leaned into, etc...;

    "Received"--made room for, allowed to settle, embraced with purpose and passion, frequent contact, (you fill in anything else that comes to mind);

    "Heard"--with intention, having the truth amplified by the Spirit to our heart;

    "Saw"--with revelation light, leading to recognition and understanding.

    There are obviously many more strategies outlined by the Holy Spirit in God's Word for keeping us from being impaired in our learning; but the above passage came to mind. I trust it would encourage.

    Stan

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  2. thanks Stan. I love this verse and would have used it in today's post had it not been too much to cover in my limited (by choice) space. Thus, my appreciation that you have so eloquently brought it into this teaching forum.

    Greg

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