Thursday, June 20, 2013

Fallen Learners

Explain and explore the impact of the following statement upon the process of making disciples: “Disciples are created in the image of God, yet fallen and choosing to learn.”

            How many times have we heard that man was made in the image of God? I guess it depends on who you are and how long you have been attending church. We get this idea straight out of the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 1:26-27.  Which is an amazing thought; we were made to be like God, but two chapters later things take a turn for the worst when our original parents do not keep the command God gave and they ate of the fruit. This is what is known as the original sin, with this sin the curse of death became imparted upon all men (Romans 5:12-21).  Paul also informs us that all have fallen short of the glory of God in Romans 3:23, so no one can say that they still look as God intended it.
            Even though men have become fallen creatures we have the ability to want and choose life. In the Gospel of John chapter 3 Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus who is curious about the things he has been doing and wants to know more. Let’s continue this journey of understanding the impact of choosing to learn and discipleship, Jesus called all of the twelve to follow him, correct? That means they had to make a conscience decision to leave whatever life they had been leading to follow this man and become his disciple. With their obedience came an education like none other. They got to live life in close proximity to Jesus. They spent several years of their life with him watching him heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. While they may never had asked Jesus for explicit instructions at every turn, the one thing we do know they asked for, was to have Jesus teach them how to pray in Luke 11.

            We have a God shaped hole in us because of sin, but when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior we surrender our wants and desires over to him and begin learning how to live life the way He wants us to. Even those who do not know Jesus long for knowledge and when presented by the guidance of the Spirit Paul teaches them about Jesus and the Resurrection (Acts 17). So as long as we have people on this planet, we will have people who hunger to learn.