Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
I have said for years the further I walk with God the less I know Him. This means God is bigger and greater in my eyes now than He has ever been and next year at this time, I hope He is even bigger and greater. That means some of my theology, knowledge and understanding should continue to change, develop and grow.
Years ago we sang a worship song that had a line that said, “I have made you too small in my eyes, O Lord be magnified.” Magnify means to make bigger. We can make God bigger or smaller in our minds. Truthfully, God is who He is regardless of what we think but in terms of our perception, He can be big or small. If we are going to consistently see God for who He really is we need a teachable spirit.
After reading one of my Dear People articles a good friend sent me a note that speaks to the need for a teachable spirit. He wrote, “I just read your road to Emmaus story and it occurred to me that the two men saw Jesus as a stranger because He had always been a stranger to them. They followed Him but they never really understood Him or who He was. So it is with the church today. It, too, needs an Emmaus road experience. Perhaps, that is what he is doing with us and that is why it is so hard to let go of this story. It is not at the beginning of Paul’s ministry that he cries, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection,” but toward the end. That always stuns me.”
I believe having a teachable spirit is one of the truly great graces we can possess. It is the mark of a true disciple. Jesus Himself is our greatest example of someone whose life was marked by a teachable spirit (Is. 50:4 & Heb. 5:8). Leadership guru John Maxwell said having a teachable spirit is the “willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn.” So having a teachable spirit is not really about the amount of knowledge we have neither does it have anything to do with our intelligence and how well we can perform, it is always about the grace to keep on learning, unlearning and relearning.
Paul says it like this, “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2). To think otherwise reveals our immaturity and a lack of a teachable spirit. Proverbs 26:12 brings this out so well, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
A teachable spirit is essential for all aspects of life not just your spiritual life. We need it in our work and business, our relationships, raising our families and on and on. No matter how much talent and gifting we have, if we are or become unteachable, we will never reach anywhere near the full potential the Father has ordained for our lives.
I believe if we will continually humble ourselves and hold our experience, knowledge and understanding with open hands while seeking wisdom beyond our own we will remain teachable. Proverbs 3:7 brings this out, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord”. In Proverbs 2:2 & 4, it says, “Incline your ear to wisdom… search for her as for hidden treasures”.
Many Blessings, BW