I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. (Proverbs 4:2, NIV)
On the shelf in my office, I keep a number of golf books. Among them is a 1974 printing of Jack Nicklaus’ Golf My Way. The price is listed right on the front cover: $5.95.
That little bit of cash is all the more amazing when you consider that many of the pages included color (gold, of course) and that, to me, the book was priceless. It was my Konica Minolta Swing Vision camera and YouTube lesson resource long before we knew what was possible in golf instruction. Books like Golf My Way and Hogan’s Five Lessons got layered on top of the things we were learning from our local teaching professional. Whatever it took, you know. Not much has changed!
You cannot be a golfer without being a learner, and neither can you be a disciple of Jesus. In human terms, he was a rabbi, and his earliest followers did what all disciples were meant to do: watched and learned.
If we say that we must grow up before we can learn, we miss the obvious. Growing up is learning; learning is growing up.At times I have been given opportunity to speak to parents of young children about bringing up their children. In these discussions, I have asked the question, “When does your child start becoming an adult?” My own answer to this question is this: “The day you teach them they cannot throw their food on the floor.”
There is no such thing as too early to learn. If we say that we must grow up before we can learn, we miss the obvious. Growing up is learning; learning is growing up.
We make a second mistake if we think that all learning is about cognitive input: facts, figures, principles, morals. Our learning comes from engagement at least as much as list-building. For this reason, you will learn something sitting in a pew and listening to a well-preached sermon, but you will secure that learning when you begin to walk out the instruction in your everyday activities. Similarly, if your pastor tells you that lying is a sin, he is only giving you the basis for what you almost surely already know by way of consequences you have faced when you have lied.
So make a commitment to both sides of learning: the input and the practice. If all I ever did as a young golfer was read books or watch the sport on TV, I’d have a head full of knowledge and little ability. And so with Christ, it is not enough to know his words. I must learn to live them.
—
Jeff Hopper
August 9, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
On Location 1: Gathering Together
On Location 2: Then and Now
On Location 3: New Ventures
On Location 4: Partners in Ministry
On Location 5: Making Connections
On Location 6: The Round Ahead
On Location 7: Helping Others
On Location 8: Stepping Out
On Location 10: Tough Stuff
On Location 11: Learning Together
On Location 12: A Good Solid Why
On Location 13: Room for Reflection