From Whom Do We Learn?

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:00 pm Post subject: From Whom Do We Learn?

From Whom Do We Learn?

Scripture:

The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son Jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged he should be released. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. But the author of life you killed, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

And now, brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had shown by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled. Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.
(Acts 3:13-15, 17-19)

My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. And by this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments. He who says that he knows him, and keeps not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But he that keeps his word, in him in very deed the charity of God is perfected; and by this we know that we are in him.
(1 John 2:1-5)

And they told what things were done in the way; and how they knew him in the breaking of the bread. Now while they were speaking these things, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and said to them: Peace be to you; it is I, fear not. But they being troubled and frightened, supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them: Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet, that it is I myself; handle, and see: for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me to have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

But while they yet believed not, and wondered for joy, he said: Have you any thing to eat? And they offered him a piece of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb. And when he had eaten before them, taking the remains, he gave to them. And he said to them: These are the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.

And he said to them: Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day: And that penance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.
( Luke 24:35-48 )

Reflection:

How often do we act because of our ignorance? We form opinions based upon incomplete information. To fill the void, we reach to past experiences; some of which comes from our knowledge of what is true, but too often from that which is formed through the bias of ignorance. How well are we served when our learning is incomplete? It requires considerable effort to learn all which we need to know, but if we are to succeed, we must seek the right teacher; the teacher provided by the One who created all things and knows all truth.

Too often, the innocent suffer because of the ignorance of people. We proceed with our judgments, confident in what we believe we know, but our understanding of truth may be skewed by simply one peace of missing information, one element of misinformation, or a single deception. As we assess, as we judge, as we decide our opinions and our actions, we must be careful about our ignorance and the truth we do not know.

The evil one relies on our ignorance, for through the voids of our learning, he is able to deceive. He cares not the direction of our misunderstanding, only that it drives us away from our relationship with God. Whether it drives us to over-zealousness, indifference, rebellion, or hate; as long as it distracts us from the commandments of love, the evil one smiles.

Learning is a life long journey. The task may appear to be daunting. Indeed, when we realize all which there is to learn and the little time we have in which to learn it, we might feel the task to be hopeless. It would be so if we were alone, but we are blessed in that God seeks to guide us. The question is, will we allow Him?

Our learning guides us in our action. It forms the foundation for what we comprehend, our capability to assess, our ability to decide, and our power to do what is right and just. If we are closed to learning, then, we are closed to growing and we are closed to justice. Learning by itself is not enough, it is also a matter of learning and connecting that which is important and that which is truth. Learning the wrong things may result in that which is useless, that which is vain, or that which is deception. Learning that which shall truly enable us to do what is right and just begins with our loving God who seeks to guide us to all righteousness and justice as well as to the blessings of love.

The Word made flesh was sent to us to enlighten us. (John 1:1-5) He came to save us from our ignorance. He endeavors to teach the commandments of the Father, not that we may merely recite them, but that we may comprehend their purpose; the purpose of His justice, His mercy, and His love. It is not enough to learn the list, we must learn their meaning and how it was meant to guide us in our decisions and our actions such that what comes from us is what God asks of us.

The Word made flesh, did not come only to teach; He came to live as an example of the love poured out to us by our Creator. He brought not only teaching, but healing and encouragement. He brought the message of the Father, the message of His mercy and His love. He did not simply teach, but demonstrated the power of a life filled with mercy and love. All these things He brought to us, but will we learn from Him, will we comprehend? Will we use what He teaches to form our decisions and guide our actions?

If we allow Him, He will guide us in our learning. He will remove our ignorance. He will reveal to us that which is truly important. He will help us see what is possible by living through our love of God and our love of one another as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:36-40) Let us, then, allow Him to guide our learning. In prayer, let us ask Him to lead us to what is right and just. In our discernment, let us allow Him to enable us to see through the deceptions of the evil one so we may live according to His plan and.

Questions for further reflection:

What is missing in our learning?

To whom should we reach to guide us in our learning?

What is a distraction to learning that which is truly important to our eternity?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier