For a person who loves research, I should have enjoyed writing papers in college, but I didn’t. I thought then, and still do, that a research paper is one of the poorest ways to test a person’s ability to practice their chosen discipline.
For me, it was seminary and I was taking a degree in religious education. Facts and data? For some, yes, but for a Christian, information is useless unless it becomes part of life. Spouting off Bible verses and writing perfect doctrinal statements do not impress God or anyone else unless the person who can do it is also godly and loves Him with all their heart.
Another thing that bugged me was that college professors didn’t seem to believe in original ideas. Oh, I know that there really are few of those, but if a student saw a truth in the Bible, that was not good enough; they had to cite a dozen other people who had already discovered it. Seeing it in Scripture and receiving insight from the Holy Spirit was not enough.
This morning’s devotional reading adds a bit of insight to my annoyance. Jesus preached what we call the Sermon on the Mount, a lengthy exhortation on true Christian living. When He was finished, the Bible says:
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28-29)The people were amazed. They knew that Jesus had something that others did not. Their teachers, the scribes, usually cited other “authorities” to lend credence to their statements. In contrast, Jesus’ words were self-authenticating and He used Scripture only. I know that I am not Jesus, but it seems wiser to consider Him as my model instead of those scribes!
A couple times this week I shared with other Christians some profound truths that I had been learning. There are two ways of doing that. One is the more common, but the other sometimes happens, and when it does, the blessing is obvious. This is when the Holy Spirit takes the truth spoken and opens up something in the listener’s mind and heart.
Their understanding shows on their face. My expression is that I see “the lights come on.” In both instances, the people who were listening were not so much hearing me as they were hearing words of authority and power, words that they knew were God’s truth. They were absolutely delighted, not with me, but with the sense of knowing that “this is true and it came from God.” Seeing their delight made me feel good too.
That does not always happen. I might tell someone the exact same thing, even use the same words, but the Holy Spirit does not use it to “hit home” or touch the hearer’s heart. This is something I cannot understand and do not control. This is the difference between myself and Jesus Christ; He speaks always with that kind of power and can use what He says to change lives.
The education system is basically one of pumping students full of facts and expected them to be digested and regurgitated back in various tests and papers. A person with a good memory and reasonable skill at synthesis can pass most courses. I suppose that works, at least in most fields of study.
However, a Christian is to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit, a tool in the hand of God, a spokesperson for Jesus Christ. I’d like to see another way besides research papers (and tests, for that matter) whereby a person studying any aspect of the Christian faith could demonstrate to their mentors that they truly know and understand what they are learning. They could cite or quote the words of others, but the best source for their ideas is the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to make it plain.
Yet passing the test is more than words and ideas. The proof that the subject has been mastered has to be something that demonstrates that His people are paying attention to Him, and that He is using our words to bless others.
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