Opportunity to Learn is a Purpose of Life

“GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, [that] I may live, and keep thy word. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Ps 119:17-18 AV)

If asked why one might wish for a longer life, would learning obedience to the word of God be the reason?  If asking for a life of blessing were on the lips, would the reason for such a request be that one might learn to keep the word of God?  This is the writer’s wish.  He is not asking for a blessed life because he wishes to enjoy it.  He is not asking for life to be prolonged so that he can enjoy his family.  He is not asking for a life with little trouble and much pleasure for the sheer enjoyment of it.  What he is asking is for the LORD to bless his life for more opportunity to learn the word of God and keep it.  After all, once this life is over, there are no more lessons in obedience to learn.  We will be transformed into the likeness of Christ.  We will have no desire to walk in disobedience or fear.  Our nature will be completely redeemed and there will be no more temptation to that which displeases God.  So, if we are going to learn self-sacrifice, surrender to obedience, or commitment to trusting God in all things, it can only be learned in this life!

Have you ever seen a young person so engrossed in learning something that they do not want to quit?  Did you ever experience something like that yourself?  Many years ago, as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout, we were exposed to different men who would teach us unique skills.  Some knew engine repair.  Others knew gardening.  There were carpenters, computer programmers, and painters.  Many skilled and unskilled talents were possessed by our mentors.  I remember one such man who was a finishing carpenter.  I remember because he lived about eight miles from our home.  I could not get a ride there so I had to ride my bicycle the entire way.  When we got there, he had us all work on his power equipment and taught us safety skills so no one would get hurt.  We built bird houses.  It took several hours for us to complete the project, but because I rode eight miles on my bicycle and it was another eight miles back.  If I worked that hard to be there, I wasn’t going to turn around and go back.  So, I spent the rest of the day with this fella.  We finished my bird house, painted it, and set it to dry.  Then we spent time working on other projects.  I learned how to run other equipment like lawn care machines, tools for simple repair, etc.  I knew that once I headed home, the opportunity to learn would be lost.  The pleasure of learning was the pursuit of my heart.

That is the attitude we should have toward the laws and principles of the word of God.  We have lost the pleasure of learning because we have invented a technology that does the learning for us.  We do not have to do research.  All we have to do is ask AI, and it does it for us.  We don’t have to learn how to create art.  Just ask your phone to do it and it does.  Do you want to fix something?  There is probably a video out there that will show you.  There was a comedian to made the crack that if you handwrote something today, you’d have to print.  We are losing the skill of cursive writing.  Are you a lousy speller?  I am.  No matter.  Just select auto correct and no worries.  Who needs to learn how to spell anymore?  Failed math class?  No matter.  Just as Suri and she will tell you what the square root of a number.  Do you get lost easily?  Don’t know how to read a map?  Just launch Waze and a pleasant voice will tell you exactly how to get there.  It will even lead you step by step.  Discovery is a wonder.  Learning is a pleasure.  The laws of the word of God are not grievous.  They are not meant to be made a displeasure.  The truths of the word of God are not too hard to trust.  They are meant to be learned and applied.  If we lose the pleasure of learning, then we cease to grow.