Who Taught You?

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/294mng

Watching one of our sons playing a video game one day I asked, “Who taught you how to do that?” The answer I received was, “Nobody.”

Of course that’s not exactly the case. These two sons of ours are very good at electronic games and gadgets. They seem to instinctively know how to move their thumbs and fingers in order to play them. But, contrary to common thought, they were not born with that knowledge. They had to be taught.

How do we learn? Of course, there are many ways in which a person may learn.

The most common way to learn is to be instructed. A student sits in a class and a teacher provides instruction through lecture and or discussion. Instruction can also come from a book or instruction manual that the student reads without a teacher.

Another way to learn is by observation. All of us have learned very valuable information by watching others in similar situations. I suspect that much of the knowledge that our boys gained about playing these games came from watching others and from having them to share their secrets on how to play better.

Still another way to learn is by doing. All the book knowledge in the world will not help if we never put that information to use. Had our boys never played those games they would have really never developed the skills that they have today. Putting knowledge to use is so important in the learning process.

Many of you are Christians today. Who taught you? You weren’t just born having this knowledge. It had to come from somewhere. So, who taught you?

Chances are that a great number of people taught you about God, Jesus, Moses, Noah, Abraham and a whole host of other Bible people. Over the years you drank in that information, processing it into your God given computer we call a brain. After some time, those things became a part of you and it became more and more difficult to remember exactly who did teach you this fact or that.

God is interested in teaching and learning, and we have some excellent examples in the Bible to show us the value of a good teacher and a good student.

Paul was addressing a mob in Jerusalem in Acts 22:3, when he mentioned that not only was he a Jew, but that he also was “brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.” Paul sat at the feet of a great rabbi, Gamaliel, but it took an even greater teacher, Jesus, to cause him to change direction in his life.

Paul also mentioned teaching and learning in 2 Timothy 1 when he recalled that the faith of Timothy was also present in his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. They, along with Paul, were teachers of Timothy, and he learned from them all.

All of us have learned what we know. Sometimes we learn this on our own through reading or through observation. But mostly we learn because someone took the time to teach us these things.

In Luke 11:1, the disciples are with Jesus and they make a very straightforward request. “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

They had been with Jesus for some time at this point and had probably heard Jesus in prayer. But they wanted more knowledge. How are we to pray? Teach us how.

This type of learning can be gained by observation, by practice and also by direct instruction. This just wasn’t about knowing the right words to say. This was about gaining insight on how to do a thing they wanted to do in a way that would be acceptable. Lord, teach us.

Yes, God is very interested in the teaching and learning process here on earth. Paul demonstrated that when he said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

On Our Daily Walk today, may we take the time to thank God for all of the people who have helped to teach us about God and salvation. May we also put that knowledge and understanding to work and use it in our lives every day.

Our thought for the day: “A man who acquires knowledge and does not use it is like a farmer who plows his field but doesn’t sow it.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.