DEVOTIONAL GUIDE: Are you a learner of Jesus?

Jesus’ last word to His disciples was to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Another word used for the word disciple is a learner. My question to you today is: Are you a learner when it comes to following Jesus?

From time to time I will ask a school aged student, “What did you learn today?” They usually struggle a bit to remember something, or just say nothing. I am sure they picked up something but memories are short.

What if we had an interviewer standing at the door of the church on Sundays after the service asking you what did you learn today? What if God asked you at the end of every day what did you see of me today? Or how are you going to handle that situation next time you face it? Some of us will repeat the same mistakes many times before we see the lesson God was trying to show us.

It seems to me that some of us are learners and we like to be taught and listen carefully when someone is teaching, and some of us are not learners. Some of us think we have a handle on things we need to know and we don’t need to learn anything more. Few of us would say that openly, but it’s pretty obvious that many of us think that way.

We all laugh when a teenager thinks they know it all, but I have found not all of us outgrow that idea. There is a saying, you can tell a (fill in the blank), but you can’t tell them much.

Sometimes I encounter people who know what they think and they won’t listen to reason, logic or truth from God’s Word. They are set in their ways and do not want to learn anything different if it contradicts their view point.

That might be a good quality if what you believe is the absolute truth. But it might be really bad for you if your idea is wrong. You might spend eternity in hell because you refuse to hear the truth about Jesus Christ.

So I wonder when you go to church, do you want to hear things you already agree with, or are you a learner ready to discover something from God even if it goes against a long-held belief?

Jesus said, “Go make learners.” Have we become Pharisees instead? The Pharisees were so sure of their religious system they rejected and crucified Jesus.

The apostle Paul was a Pharisee, and he killed and jailed believers thinking he was serving God. Then one day Jesus blinded him and then opened his eyes to see Jesus.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened (by religious rituals that provide no peace), and I will give you rest (refreshing your souls with salvation). Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me (following Me as My disciple), for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy (to bear) and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Rev. Paul McKibben is pastor of Grace Community Church in Osage.