That’s one way of talking about a failure, mistake or something painful; the relationship that didn’t work out or that job you got fired from, maybe even the DUI you got back in college. Life is full of learning experiences. No one is exempt from them. Hebrews 5:8 says of Jesus, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.”

There seems to be no choice as to whether or not we learn things. That’s how our brains and bodies function. But we do have some choices. The first one is whether or not we will choose to be open to learning and set ourselves on the path to positive learning and growth. The second one has to do with what we learn. You can have all kinds of learning experiences and waste them by learning the wrong thing. You can be hurt in a relationship and learn never to trust anyone again. You can get fired, and learn that you’re a loser or maybe learn to cover up all your mistakes from there on out. You can get a DUI and “learn” that the cops are just out to get you. In other words, you can learn how to deny your problems and blame them on others

Sitting here this morning, my mind is racing with illustrations about how people can learn the wrong thing. I’m even thinking about how people can learn the right things so well that it turns into something destructive, like pride. The Pharisees, the guys that Jesus was always in conflict with, are a good example of this. Their knowledge of scripture was impeccable. You’ll see that Jesus rarely, if ever, confronts them on their beliefs. In fact, he actually sided with them in a controversy with the Saducees (Matt. 22). It’s always their attitude, their self-righteous behavior and the things they focus on that raises the Lord’s ire.

The apostle Paul, a former Pharisee, sums up the difference between the way of Jesus and the way of the Pharisees in this pithy statement: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”( I Corinthians 8:1). Later, in I Corinthians 13, he writes, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  To Timothy, Paul explains the kind of goal of his teaching: “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (I Timothy 1:5).

Fall is a time when we have learning—the intentional kind—on the brain. For those of us with school age kids, the marathon began this week. It’s Sunday School time, too—and the beginning of kid’s clubs and youth groups. There’s no substitute for gaining knowledge. Searching the scriptures is a critical part of spiritual formation. For those of us who follow Christ, however, the things we’ve learned are tools which, surrendered to God, allow us to love more deeply and serve more effectively.

I’m looking forward to seeing you this weekend as we learn more about God’s grace; in particular, the grace we grow on.

Yours for the Journey,
Pastor Tom