In September as school begins for the fall term is the best time to buy pencils. The stores are filled with back to school specials and "great deals" on designer clothes so students can fit in with the crowd. It is pretty easy to fall into the belief that learning is for the young and the older we grow the more we know and the less we need to learn. Nothing could be further from the truth either in our daily lives or in our relationship with God. Life long learning is more than just a hobby; it is needed in order to maintain our health and vitality. Use it or loose it is not just for maintaining muscle tone it applies to our mind as well. Many of us just accept the memory loss and lack of functioning that seems to come along with aging but it is a loss we don't need to accept as a natural part of life. Research has shown that learning and brain health are directly connected. There are enzymes secreted when we form new memories and connections in our brain that actually revitalize our mind.

This revitalization is more than just being able to remember the latest price of eggs. It is the preservation of our personality... the core of who we are. Engaging in a focused program of life long learning is truly self preservation... for that is exactly what you stand to loose, the very things that make you yourself. Besides, every time we buy a new appliance we are faced with an alien technology designed to baffle us to the point where we cannot set the timer on the oven or change the channel on our television. For heaven's sake even the radio in many cars has a remote control although how they expect you to use it when you are driving is beyond me. The answer to this brain puzzle is to puzzle your brain. You can take classes, learn new skills, work the crossword or get a computer puzzle after you have learned to use the computer. We either learn or we retire to the living room and look out the window as life goes by. Even in my own lifetime we have gone from propeller airplanes to space ships, from my first slide rule to the computer I use to type this article on.

Life long learning is just as important in our spiritual life. The very hymns we sing in worship make this very point. As we sing Just a closer walk with thee we should admit to ourselves that a big part of that closer walk is engaging in a life long process of learning more about our faith. In fact the incentive to engage in life long study of our faith comes from Jesus. In the great commandment he tells says; Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

We are teachers and witnesses to the very presence of God in our lives and in our world at large. You personally may not be called to teach classes but we are surrounded by people who are curious about God and what it is like to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Our friends, our children and grandchildren are just the beginning of a long list of people we might want to share with. The problem is you cannot share what you do not have and you cannot teach what you do not know. We can each bear witness to our experience of God's presence and teach about our faith, sharing the knowledge of God's grace. The other side to a life long commitment to growing or leaning in our faith is it provides a pathway for God to help us gain maturity. There are many hard experiences in our lives for which God needs to prepare us. The primary way this happens is for us to continue to learn and grow deeper in our faith. A 7th grade Christian education cannot possibly prepare us for the life shattering experience of death and betrayal that unfortunately is a part of so many of our lives. God cannot pull us out of the pit unless we extend our hand in return.

Living should be learning in every part of our life. So as September begins buy some pencils and a book to mark up. Come to a Bible study or enroll in a class, opportunities to learn are all around us.

Pastor Jim Bliss
September 2010