Learner - a student, a follower,
one who imitates their teacher, one who learns by inquiry or observation
When I was in high school, I was
required to memorize the first section of the Canterbury Tales which were
written by Geoffrey Chaucher in 1387-1400.
I did well memorizing the words and even enjoyed the challenge of
tackling the Middle English language. As
a matter of fact, after all these years, I can still quote a small part of it, although
I have no idea what it means. I’m sure
the teacher explained it, because she was very thorough. But, it wasn’t a lasting priority for me, so now
all I am left with is a few memorized words.
There is a little phrase I have
often heard, “use it or lose it”. And it
is true. If we don’t take what we have
heard and put it into practice, we lose it. That’s
why the apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” God is working in us. We need to go with what He is doing and let
it shape who we are and ultimately what we do. It is not enough to know the
words of truth. We must incorporate them
into our lifestyles until they become as natural as breathing if we are to learn
of Jesus.
Many people call themselves
disciples or learners of Jesus, but in actuality they have only memorized a few
words instead of becoming imitators of His life. There are some who hear the instruction of
the Teacher and follow it, who cultivate the character and life of the Teacher. Those are the true learners. The ones who hear the words but remain
unchanged are not.
Jesus calls us to come to Him and
learn of Him. Not just learn about Him,
but to learn of Him. We can learn from
other people when they tell us about Jesus, but that is not enough. He wants us to learn directly from Him. He said, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of
Me.” (Matthew11:29) Taking His yoke is the key to learning of Him. This yoke unites us together with Jesus to
work with Him toward a single purpose, His perfect purpose. It keeps us at a steady pace as we pull
together with Him. We learn to match His
steps and get in stride with Him. If we
try to work independently, we will hurt ourselves and impede our progress. When we work yoked together with someone
every day and in every situation, we don’t just learn what they do, we learn
who they are. We get to know their heart.
The word ‘learn’ in this verse does not mean to simply learn the doctrine of
Christ, but to learn Christ Himself.
Paul’s desire was to know Christ
in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. He wanted to experience Christ in every area
of life and become one with Him in the good and the bad. He wanted to have the mind of Christ, to love
what He loves and hate what He hates, to let Christ’s purpose become his
purpose. We all need that same passion
to know Jesus and to imitate Him in our everyday life. That’s what real learners do. They have such a yearning in their heart to
know Jesus that they lay aside other things.
The natural realm fades away as they walk in the Spirit of Christ.
The twelve closest disciples to
Jesus left behind their old lives and went wherever Jesus went, and they
learned Who He was as they walked the roads with Him every day. They were yoked
with Him. Their connection was
continuous. It should be for us,
too. Prayer, our communication with God,
is not a ritualistic discipline to be checked off our “to do” list every
day. It is a moment by moment connection
with Him. It is good to read our Bibles
and pray during a certain time, but it shouldn’t stop there. How does God fit into our lives for the rest
of the day? If you are caught in a stale
devotional routine and have been wondering, “Is there more?” The answer is ‘yes’. We can learn from Jesus,
but we must acknowledge His presence more than just a few minutes a day. The disciples learned because that was the
most important aspect of their lives. They
had given up everything to follow Him, and they walked with Jesus daily in the
mundane and the miraculous. They were
with Him morning, noon and night. As a
result, they knew Jesus Himself, not just His works.
When the disciples had questions,
they asked Jesus. When they were confused,
they let Him know. When there was a
decision to make, they looked to Jesus for the right one. When they disagreed with Him, they told Him
and He would help them see things from a spiritual perspective instead of a physical
one. There were times He told them what
was about to happen, and times when He told them it wasn’t for them to know
right now. But they learned because they
were there all the time, not just part time.
The closer we are to Jesus, the more
we will see things the way He sees them.
Being in the yoke with Him fuses our relationship, and we, too, can
learn from Him as we walk daily with Him in the mundane and the miraculous.
One day, a crowd had followed
Jesus out into a wilderness place because they wanted to hear His teachings and
be healed of their diseases. That
evening the disciples told Jesus He needed to send them away to get something
to eat in one of the villages. Jesus
said they didn’t need to go. He said to
the disciples, “You feed them.” They told
Him they only had five loaves and two fish.
So, Jesus said “bring them to Me.”
They brought them and Jesus blessed them, broke them and fed 5000 people.
The disciples had considered the situation
in their natural minds, and they came up with a natural solution. It seemed to be the best option. But Jesus saw on a spiritual level, and the
situation became a platform for a miracle.
Because the disciples heard Him and obeyed, He changed their focus. They finally saw what Jesus had seen, but
only after it came to pass before their eyes. Jesus can change our focus, too, if
we will ask Him and obey what He says even when we can’t envision what He has
in mind. Many are facing circumstances
that seem hopeless today. If we ask God
to let us see through His eyes and obey Him, we will see a platform for a
miracle. Stay in the yoke with Jesus. Don’t try to pull the load alone. His yoke is easy and His burden is
light. If you are not finding it so,
it’s because it is not His yoke.
We can also learn from Jesus by
studying the Word of God. A friend of
mine said that one day when she was reading John 1 where it says “the Word was
with God and the Word was God”, she realized, “If I know the Word, then I know
God.” When we read and allow the Holy
Spirit to reveal the meaning of His Word to us, we see the heart of God, the
purpose of God, His compassion, His zeal for truth, and His power. Sad to say, many who have been saved for
years still don’t know Him. They have
grown very little. Why? Because they
have not worked out their salvation.
They have not taken on Jesus’ yoke. They have not allowed the Holy
Spirit to reveal the Word to them until it is woven into the very fabric of
their being.
First John 2:6 tells us, He that
saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” Some years ago the WWJD movement was
widespread. It challenged people to ask
“What Would Jesus Do?” before making any decisions. Then they were to follow in the direction
Jesus would take regardless of the cost and regardless of who misunderstood
them. The problem was, it became more of
a fad rather than the life-altering heart issue it was intended to be. Yet, even today, it can have a life-changing impact
on those who take it seriously. After
all, isn’t that what the first disciples did?
They came to Jesus with their questions, ideas, perplexities and
needs. It’s no wonder, because that is
what Jesus showed them when He turned to the Father in prayer for that vital connection. We need to ask ourselves that question, listen
for the answer, and act on it. “What
would Jesus do in my circumstances? What
would Jesus say?” “How would Jesus
react?” Jesus would do the will of the
Father. His will is found in the pages
of God’s Word. We can go there for
answers.
What “hopeless” circumstance are
you closing the door on? Ask Jesus to
show you what to do. When you obey, He
will work it out. We become so earthly
minded that we forget our spiritual roots when we need them most, and when
others need us to operate on a spiritual level on their behalf. The Holy Spirit is right alongside us to open
our eyes to see things the way Jesus sees them.
We need to ask of Him. When we
have decisions to make, we need to see what God sees and
follow His vision. Are we growing more
and more like Him? We aren’t if we don’t
know Him?
There is an old song that says, “To
be like Jesus, to be like Jesus; All I ask to be like Him. All through life’s journey from earth to
glory, all I ask to be like Him.” That is the only kind of earnest, undying
desire that will bring us to be true learners of Jesus. Why do we cling to this world that is passing
away when we can take hold of eternity?
Release your grip and take Jesus’
yoke upon you and learn of Him!
His yoke is easy and His burden
is light!
