EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.  Romans 1:1

Paul grew up in Tarsus to a well-to-do family.  He was privileged to be tutored under the Rabbi Gamaliel, the President-Patriarch of the Sanhedrin.  Gamaliel was the Pharisee doctor of Jewish law.  No young student of the Torah could have wished for a better teacher.  This brilliant and well-respected Rabbi shaped Paul’s life and gave him a coveted education.

However, Paul didn’t recognize Jesus.  His education served to make him a zealot whose passion was to protect the sanctity of the Jewish faith by annihilating Christians.  He was there in person to support the stoning of the Apostle Stephen.  Though he was only feet away from this eloquent witness, Paul failed to see the glory of Jesus in a martyr’s face. He was absolutely blind in spite of his brilliant education.  Paul lacked experience with Christ which he eventually got on his way to Damascus.

Education, by itself, does not a Christian make.  Many are raised in the church, have all the doctrine down pat, but because they lack experience with Jesus, their lives have no power.  Their knowledge lacks context.  Education without experience is a dangerous thing.

So is experience without education.  If one has encountered Jesus but then fails to get to know Him through His revealed Word, he will be equally as reckless with the truth.

I have attended meetings over the years where the speaker was introduced as ‘one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our times.’  His mind held the audience in awe. His grasp of history and Christian ethics, though brilliant, did not reveal to us that he had been with Jesus.  I have also talked with people who have had life-changing encounters with Christ but did not follow it up with path of discipleship.  They went on to form their theology with their own interpretations of their experiences.

May God save us today.  For those who are educated and enjoy the prestige of letters after their name, I would say this ~ You are a blind sheep without the entrance of the Spirit giving light to the Word.  Humble yourself to see the glory of Christ.  For those who see the Lord but are coasting on experience, I would say ~ Form and context must be added to provide a foundation for your faith in Christ.  Study and meditate in order to know ‘whom you have believed.’

Show me Your glory ~ both in Your Word and on my Damascus road. Amen