Memory – 2 Peter 1.5-8 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with perseverance, and with perseverance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
I suppose it is safe to assume you know being good is better than being “smart” – at least about knowing lots of information about science, geography, literature and a host of other things you learn in school. The apostle Peter lists goodness before knowledge for good reason, but it is important to realize that when the Bible speaks about knowledge it is primarily talking about moral knowledge. That is, knowing right from wrong, knowing what God expects of us. Consequently, that means knowing what the Bible has to say about our relationship with God.
Obviously, God places a high premium on knowledge evidenced in the considerable Scriptural emphasis placed on the pursuit of wisdom and a knowledge of God. For example, the first nine chapters of Proverbs is devoted to the theme of wisdom; Psalm 119 has the singular focus on knowing and applying the Word of God to your life. After Moses delivered the ten commandments to Israel he followed up with this instruction: These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and your children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life (Deuteronomy 6.1-2). In the New Testament the apostle Paul writes: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ (Philippians 1.9).
By increasing in your knowledge of the Word of God you are in a position to make the best possible decisions when you are confronted with a variety of “good” choices. A person can no more believe in Jesus as Savior without knowledge than an eye can see without light. No one can either love or fear a God whom they do not know. When a person’s mind is immersed in ignorance they must confront the destructive consequences of an ethically conflicted society without a reliable moral framework. There are three stages of learning. You may apply these to growing in your knowledge of God. First, rote knowledge – that is, memorizing data or in your case Scripture. Second, is reflective knowledge which comes through meditation and internalizing the truth of the Word (cf. Psalm 1). Finally, there is redemptive or instinctive knowledge. This is the work of grace that is evidenced when your first instinctive response to trouble is Christ-like (cf. Acts 7.54-60; Romans 9.1-4; 1 Samuel 12.23-24 – Samuel’s rejection after a life of faithful service to Israel).
Frankly, to know God is the true goal of learning. Malcolm Muggeridge (a English social pundit) said “To see God is the highest aspiration of man and has preoccupied the rarest human spirits at all times. Seeing God means understanding, seeing into the mystery of things. It is, or should be, the essential quest of universities…” (Jesus Rediscovered p. 95). You are learning to learn and knowing God is the foundation for that is worthwhile. Remember, you have begun the journey. It is not a sprint but a marathon and the quest for wisdom and knowledge is a life-long pursuit.
Obviously, God places a high premium on knowledge evidenced in the considerable Scriptural emphasis placed on the pursuit of wisdom and a knowledge of God. For example, the first nine chapters of Proverbs is devoted to the theme of wisdom; Psalm 119 has the singular focus on knowing and applying the Word of God to your life. After Moses delivered the ten commandments to Israel he followed up with this instruction: These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and your children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life (Deuteronomy 6.1-2). In the New Testament the apostle Paul writes: And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ (Philippians 1.9).
By increasing in your knowledge of the Word of God you are in a position to make the best possible decisions when you are confronted with a variety of “good” choices. A person can no more believe in Jesus as Savior without knowledge than an eye can see without light. No one can either love or fear a God whom they do not know. When a person’s mind is immersed in ignorance they must confront the destructive consequences of an ethically conflicted society without a reliable moral framework. There are three stages of learning. You may apply these to growing in your knowledge of God. First, rote knowledge – that is, memorizing data or in your case Scripture. Second, is reflective knowledge which comes through meditation and internalizing the truth of the Word (cf. Psalm 1). Finally, there is redemptive or instinctive knowledge. This is the work of grace that is evidenced when your first instinctive response to trouble is Christ-like (cf. Acts 7.54-60; Romans 9.1-4; 1 Samuel 12.23-24 – Samuel’s rejection after a life of faithful service to Israel).
Frankly, to know God is the true goal of learning. Malcolm Muggeridge (a English social pundit) said “To see God is the highest aspiration of man and has preoccupied the rarest human spirits at all times. Seeing God means understanding, seeing into the mystery of things. It is, or should be, the essential quest of universities…” (Jesus Rediscovered p. 95). You are learning to learn and knowing God is the foundation for that is worthwhile. Remember, you have begun the journey. It is not a sprint but a marathon and the quest for wisdom and knowledge is a life-long pursuit.
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