Always Learning, Never Arriving
I was reading in 2nd Timothy today and found myself surprisingly struck by a short verse I had never really noticed before. Paul is addressing the young preacher Timothy and advises him to avoid such people who are lovers of self, disobedient, slanderous, arrogant, etc. He says that among these people are those who are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2nd Timothy 3:7)
I know that I’m one of those people who is always learning. I love to study theology. I really do. I love how much sense the Bible makes-- all the connections, the patterns, the history, the analogies. I love to read books about the Bible and I love to listen to good sermons.
I also felt somewhat convicted yesterday when I came across a new project that Francis Chan will be releasing in January 2016. He wants to help Christians learn a fundamental skill for growing in relationship to God, and that is simply to be with Him. Alone. Seeking His face, basking in His presence, in all His unveiled glory.
Chan believes that we’ve collectively become a group of professional gatherers; consumers of sermons and teachings in the way we consume our favorite music or television shows. He says that American Christians consume more sermons and books than any other group in the history of the world... but look at the state of our churches. Is our multitude of resources really helping us to know God?
Or are we using them to substitute knowing the REAL God? Where do we go for our knowledge of Truth? How often are we Christians approaching a blog or a Bible study app or a podcast sermon rather than the real, living God, with just His Word in our hands and a prayer on our lips?
I’m afraid that our resources, though most often full of Truth and faithfulness to the Word, may sometimes cause a diversion. It is unbelievably tempting to feel satisfied in our resources, to use them as a shroud from facing our Father, especially for the times we know we’re in sin. But He wants to meet with us. One on one. He invites us to be with Him. His holiness is intimidating to a sinner’s heart, but wasn’t Jesus’ work on the cross enough?
Or perhaps we simply haven’t grasped the privilege it is to be in His presence. Perhaps we’ve fallen asleep when we really ought to be in awe. Grace is old news, but Father says it’s new every single morning. Do we really believe that? This is often a struggle for me. I have to pray regularly that God would protect my heart from a dullness to His grace.
It is so good to have such a multitude of resources available to us, it really is. They’re extraordinarily helpful in our growth and sanctification. But they cannot become a substitute to encountering our Creator. We need to be alone with God. We need to seek His face. He is the Truth. Only in seeking Him will we arrive at a knowledge of the Truth.
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-greatest-thing-you-could-do-today
