At our first ministry, an older woman came to Tom and said, “I’ve read through the Bible so many times, there’s nothing left to learn.” What a dangerous statement! Yeah, for reading through the Bible many times! But the Bible is not like any other book. When the writer says in Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and powerful,” he is saying that, unlike other books, the Bible is “God-breathed,” and when we read it, God’s Spirit custom-designs its message for us. Today’s doldrums or disasters are different than yesterdays, and those experiences also prepare our hearts and minds to see God’s message differently.
It is not only alive, but it is also “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The writer gives three examples where the division of two things are very difficult to discern:
- Soul and spirit
- Joints and marrow
- Thoughts and intents
If you’ve ever seen the place where a creek joins a river, you have a wonderful picture of difficult divisions. The creek may be muddy, and you can distinctly see a division in the river as the two waters join, but is that division so distinct up close? No. Can we understand which part of our soul—the mind, will, and emotion—is separate from our spirit, that part of us which communicates with God? Did that thought come from God, or did I think of it, or did I think of it because God put it in my mind to think it?! How quickly we can become overwhelmed in our OWN thinking! Just another reason why we go to the Word of God, study it, and allow it to sharpen our thoughts.
This all came about while reading Proverbs 2, which starts with a “how to have wisdom” lesson. Am I wise? Can I become wiser? Have I arrived? (That’s laughable!!) Solomon gives us a recipe for wisdom:
- Receive my word (v.1)
- Treasure it (v.1)
- Listen closely (v. 2 CSB)
- Apply your heart (v. 2–SO, so, so important, even for old geezers!)
- Cry out for discernment/understanding (v. 3–oh, how we need this in our day!)
- Seek and search AS FOR HIDDEN TREASURE (v. 4–this isn’t just a “Ho, hum. It’s time to read my Bible again” attitude!)
And then comes the promise: understanding the fear of the LORD and finding knowledge of God. (V. 5)
Do you long to know God more, understand His Word better? It takes work! There are days when you dig and dig and find little, but even the tiniest nugget of God’s truth can change those old “leopardous” spots on our character and bring us forth as gold!
So, to answer the question, “Am I too old to learn?” Never! We sit at the feet of the Ancient of Days as His dear children.
Beyond Common Sense 