I once asked someone to attend a new Bible study we were starting. Our church had wanted to make room for a new group of people to connect on Sunday mornings. When I asked this one saint, his response caught me off guard. I’m used to people telling me about their busy schedules. It’s hard to get the kids up that early. My favorite is, “Really, Pastor, Sunday is my day.” Okay, Lord of the Sabbath. Why didn’t this church member want to take the chance to learn the Bible? Simple. “I did Sunday School when I was younger,” he said. It wasn’t that he thought Sunday School was just for kids. I’ve heard that before. In his mind, he already graduated. Time didn’t allow for us to go too much further in our conversation. I’d love to know what he thought Sunday School was. Did he think there was one Sunday School program to rule them all? That every time a class got together, they were reading and learning the same thing? I don’t recall what the new class was going to focus on learning. Jesus, probably. My impression, though, was if it wasn’t the NFL, he wouldn’t be there. Now, I do want to use that example in another way. What if he had been looking for a new group to join? Could it be, if he thought Sunday School was all the same review of Bible basics, that didn’t intrigue him because he had a firm grasp of such concepts? If so, I wouldn’t blame him. Not every opportunity is for everyone. I’m not sure I want to say that we’re too focused on the basics. But I do want to reflect on something we read in Hebrews 6. The writer of Hebrews is seeking to encourage a group of Christians from falling away. In chapter 6, that includes the call to “go on toward perfection.” We do that by “leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ.” That sounds strange. Why would we want to move on from basic teachings about Jesus? For the Hebrews audience, there seems to have been an emphasis on how Jesus connected to Judaism. For the congregation to move forward, they were going to need to look beyond that basic material. They didn’t need to forget it or lose it or even neglect it. But it was time to grow. Being in Christ meant so much more than they realized. Letting their faith mature would be part of the encouragement they needed. It’s like Math. No, we may never need all we learned about advanced math, for example. But the processes we learn in mathematics help us learn to learn. We might not know what we could learn if we stuck with one plus one. How God will encourage us won’t be obvious until we set out on an intentional walk with the Lord. We have a lifetime to grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus. But there needs to be a willingness to grow. There are always new levels of understanding and faithfulness. So, join a new Sunday School class or read a book. Whatever you do, keep growing! Stay blessed…john |
John Fletcher
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