Growing In Knowledge

I’m in the process of upgrading my computers and learning some new computer programs, pretty much a challenge for anyone. Just upgrading the operating programs can at times be a headache. One gets used to a certain way of rapidly working along, but the upgrade has a few new twists (improvements) that take time to get used to. Well, the upgrades were needed to accommodate some totally new unfamiliar programs I will be using on a regular basis. As it’s been said time and again, if we’re not learning, we’re not growing, we’re dying. I seem to be growing all the time, but not from knowledge.

I often get emails titled, “Things I’ve Learned” and most of the time the statements contained within are truthful and reflective of an honest life. “I’ve learned ...the best classroom in the world is sitting at the feet of an elderly person; that being kind is more important than being right; that you should never say no to a gift from a child; that I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the means to help them in some other way; that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with; that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes; that we should be thankful that God doesn’t give us everything we want; that money doesn’t buy class; that under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved; that the Lord didn’t do it all in one day, so why should I think I can; that to ignore the facts doesn’t change the facts; that love, not time, heals all wounds; that the easiest way for me to grow is to surround myself with people smarter than I am; that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile; that life is tough, but with God, I’m tougher; that the less time I have to work with, the more I get done; that when I harbor bitterness, happiness docks somewhere else and, that I can’t always chose how I feel, but I can chose what I do about it.” More to come some other day.

A father was home alone with his two-year-old daughter while his wife was out shopping. The daughter had received a ‘tea set’ as a gift and it had become her favorite toy. While her father watched the news on TV, she offered him a ‘cup of tea’, which was, of course, just water. The daughter brought daddy several cups of tea which he was ‘thankful for such yummy tea’ after drinking each miniature cup. When his wife returned home he encouraged her to linger in the room to see the cute thing their daughter was doing. Sure enough, here she came with another ‘cup of tea’. After watching her husband drink the ‘cup of tea’ she commented, “Did it ever occur to you the only place she could reach any water is in the toilet?” I’ll bet he could just die.

[2 Timothy 2] The chapter contains advice from Paul to Timothy on the attitude one must have to serve Christ as a minister of the gospel. I feel everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ is a minister of the gospel and should live in such a way that their life preaches Jesus and the grace of God. Jesus clearly stated to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” (John 18:36) Paul’s greatest advise to Timothy is to keep worldly things out of the church, for they will destroy God’s truth. Do you study God’s word? Are you adapting His word to your way of living? If you’re learning spiritually, you’re growing spiritually. If not, you’re dying my friend, an eternal death.