“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6 NLT)
In Matthew 9:9 the Bible says: “As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow Me and be My disciple,’ Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed Him.” For Matthew, as it should for each of us who become a Jesus follower, Jesus’ invitation began a life of learning that would not stop until Matthew closed his eyes for the final time in death.
Why is a constant hunger to learn so vital? Regardless of our age or stage in life, we’re constantly behind the proverbial learning curve when it comes to Jesus, His instructions, His leadership, and even His love for us. This was vividly illustrated in the next scene in Matthew’s life.
In the following verses in chapter 9 we learn that Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to his home as dinner guests. He also invited “…many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners,” which I’m quite confident, pleased Jesus. It always puzzles me how the Pharisees managed to worm their way into these events, but they obviously did because they asked Jesus’ disciples: “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?” Oh my!
Verse 12 says: “When Jesus heard this, He said, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.’ Then He added, ‘Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: “I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.” For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Aren’t you glad for that unequivocal stance of our Savior? I sure am! When I came to the Lord, I was like Matthew in the sense that I had no understanding of what it would mean to follow Jesus, but I was eager to learn, and much of his (and my) most valuable lessons were learned in the proverbial school of “hard knocks.” That hunger is never satisfied and won’t be until I see Him face to face.
What is the Lord teaching you? May I be honest? If you’re not a student of God’s Word, probably not much! Trying to learn how to follow Jesus without digging into Scripture is a little bit like trying to become a physician by studying a voodoo handbook. You may learn some things, but they likely won’t help you get where you want to go.
Learning has to have focus, an “endgame.” “Why” is a critical question behind everything I read and/or study. If it’s not going to teach me to know Jesus better and/or enable me to learn to follow Him more closely, it will have to get in line. And, yes, of course, there is a wide range of things that we can read that will help us broaden our avenues of opportunity to reach more people for the Lord, but there must always be “method in the madness.”
Related to that, it’s important that we have some “down” time to process what we’re learning. One of the best ways to do that is with like-minded people. That’s the value of a small group of people who are also “learners” whom you’ve grown to love and admire as fellow pilgrims on the faith journey of becoming all God wants you to be.
I’m very glad the Lord has surrounded me with men and women who are a lot smarter than me, who can teach me by giving me insight into the things He wants to teach me about Himself, His Word, and how to live out that Word in my daily life. I hope you have people like that in your life.
What did you learn today?
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 