It's confession time. I was a terrible student. My grades were often just enough to pass a class or earn a diploma. I only failed one class during my entire scholastic career but, in many cases, even though my grades may have been good they didn't reflect my full effort or best work. I took notes in class but rarely went back and studied them. I read chapters in my textbooks only so I could adequately answer the questions at the end. I read the Cliff Notes and not the actual book. I procrastinated on papers and projects until the very last minute. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how I was able to make it all of the way through high school and college and finish graduate school. Unfortunately, like many of us, I've often taken this approach with studying Scripture as well, studying only in preparation for a group Bible study or teaching a Sunday School lesson. That notion was challenged this month. During our daily prayer times our contact, Raul, did something that nobody that we had met in the previous 3 months had done. He took the time to invest in our spiritual walks. He asked us about our lives up to that point and our vision for the future. He challenged us to grow in ways that we had never experienced and to "do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." [2 Timothy 2:15, NIV84] To achieve this goal, he would present us with a question from Scripture. We would spend the evening studying it and then return in the morning with an answer that drove a group discussion. He took acountability to another level, a level that is often overlooked. A level where real growth can begin to happen. Through this process I realized how much I didn't know about Scripture and how important it is to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." [1 Peter 3:15b, NIV84]
There were many occasions during my scholastic career that I studied simply to pass the next test. God is asking for a whole lot more than this from us. He doesn't want us to simply gain the knowledge so that we can spout out answers. He is asking us to go deeper into who he is. He is asking us to KNOW HIM, not just KNOW ABOUT HIM. He is asking us to taste and see that he is good. He is asking us to crawl up into his lap and just be his children. He is asking us to show the world that joy is possible on this side of heaven.
