We Should Always Be Teachable, No Matter Our Age
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I am no longer in school, and part of me honestly wants to do a happy dance about that. It’s been years since I have been in a classroom. However, I am still a student. It can be tempting in this life to believe that we “arrive.” Whether it is when we graduate, achieve a certain career goal, get married, have children, become grandparents, or something else. If we are not prayerful and aware, our attitudes can become prideful.
Today, we are going to look at why we should be teachable, no matter what age.
God’s Not Done
I love something my 61-year-old friend Debbie says, “If we’re not dead, then God’s not done.” It may sound a bit morbid, yet it is profound. If we are breathing right now, the Lord has a purpose for our lives. He has something that He desires for us to be doing for His kingdom. Just because we might feel done, does not mean that the Lord is done.
Spiritual Growth
No matter what age we have reached, God is not finished growing us. We are imperfect sinners. I have come to realize more the sin in my life the longer I live on this earth. We should always be students of the Word, and we grow when we are willing to learn.
The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 4:9, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
We are warned to be careful, watch ourselves closely not to forget or let the things we learned fade in our hearts. The longer we are in the world, the more common it becomes to be around a sinful culture and become immune to it. We quickly justify shows that we watch because we are over the “recommended age.” We make excuses for our bad habits because they are not murder or adultery. We forget the joy of child-like faith and pursuit of the Lord.
On the other hand, Deuteronomy 4:9 also says that we are to teach those coming after us. In order to be effective teachers, we need to be faithful students.
Jesus Our Rabbi
John 1:47-49 says, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.’”
The word Rabbi in the Greek is rhabbi meaning, “My master, my teacher.” “A title of respect often applied to Christ.”
When we ponder that Nathanael just met Jesus and called him his master and teacher, this is a big deal. Jesus revealed His sovereignty by saying that He saw Nathanael under the fig tree. It is mysterious because we do not know what happened there, but Jesus and Nathanael did. Jesus revealed something that only God could have known, and Nathanael responded in obedience and submission to His leadership.
As disciples of Jesus, we too have come to Christ and said that He is our Master and Teacher. A lot of times we use the term, Lord. Jesus is also our Rabbi. He is the One we have placed ourselves under. We trust in His authority and His teachings. This is why it is a huge deal that we submit and agree to His Holy Bible. He is the author, and every word in the Bible is from God Himself. It is inspired by His Holy Spirit.
It is essential that we seek Christ in prayer, by reading His Word, and spending time in community with other believers to grow spiritually.
Submitting to the Spirit and Being Filled Up Daily
Are we becoming too relaxed in seeking the Holy Spirit daily? I am guilty of this. I get caught up in the mundane tasks and before I fix my eyes on Jesus, I am looking at dishes, emails, or grocery lists. I begin to fill my mind with to-dos, instead of looking at the Person of Jesus.
A prayer for the Spirit to fill me might by something like this, “God, I need You today. I need Your help to live for You. Holy Spirit, fill me up again so that I can live by Your strength and not by my sinful nature. Forgive me for the ways that I have already failed and help me to walk in the power of Your Holy Spirit. Open my eyes to Your purposes today. Amen.”
This daily act of surrender means that we are teachable. We are humbling ourselves under the Lord and leaning on His Spirit within us. We are not able to achieve anything of eternal significance on our own apart from Him.
Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.”
As we think on the word teachable, we are not trying to obtain an A+ from God. The fact is that we all have earned Fs. Jesus is the only one who has aced life for us. In other words, He “passed the test.”
We might be well-seasoned believers, but the moment we think that we have it all together and we do not have a need for grace in this season of our lives, then we are living in a dangerous place. When we walk with Jesus, we should be so comfortable and safe to journey with Him because He is trustworthy, yet we should be so in awe that He would welcome us with Him because of His perfection. I would say, the closer we are to Jesus, the more teachable we should become. We realize how great the Rabbi is and it humbles us more – not in a shameful way, but in a pure amazement of His holiness.
For the Sake of Generations to Come
If I model that I “arrive” to my son, then he is going to be extremely disappointed one day when he becomes my age and his life is not “perfect.” One of the best things that a parent can do is to admit their sin to their children. This humble attitude shows that we are all growing in Christ and He is the only perfect One.
If a 95-year-old woman is still studying the Bible, pressing into Christian community, and learning about how to serve God with her giftings, this would bless everyone around. She would be a light and a role model. She would be admired for her teachable Spirit and pursuit of Jesus.
Are we able to be taught? What holds us back from humility and learning? What are ways that we can implement being students of Jesus in our daily routines?
The word mathétés in the Greek means to be “a disciple.” This means to be, “A learner, disciple, pupil.”
We are disciples of Jesus from the moment that we accept Him as our Savior throughout our entire lives. John 12:26 says, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
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