Devotional for March 10th 2021

“Keep on doing the things that you have
learned and received and heard and seen in me,
and the God of peace will be with you.”
-Philippians 4:9

During the season of Lent, I have been using our devotional times as an opportunity to explore ways we can draw closer to God through Christ. From developing a spiritual practice such as prayer to looking at how we are called to acts of charity, we have been on a journey together. This week, I invite us to turn to what it means to continue to learn and grow in faith. Throughout our scriptures, there are passages like the one I just shared, which speak about teaching and learning. And we have many stories of Jesus where he is preaching and teaching to crowds of people, about God’s Kingdom. Each of these passages lift up the importance of learning and growing in faith and in life which speaks to us today. If we look at the scripture verse I just shared, Paul commends his listeners for learning more about God, while also reminding them to make good use of it. He even declares that the peace of God will rest upon them when they make use of what they have learned. And so this passage reminds us of the importance of continuing to learn throughout our lives, not just in childhood. Because sometimes we consider learning to be for children. Something you do in Sunday School or by attending public school and university. It can be easy to forget that once we move away from more formal educational experiences that we should still continue to create ways to learn on our own. But Paul reminds us that there is always more to learn about God, and about the world around us. So we should seek out opportunities to learn whenever we can. From reading scripture or books about scripture and theology or participating in Bible Studies, there are many ways we can learn more about Christ and draw closer to God in faith. But it’s also important to make time to learn more about life around us as well. To participate in learning more about the concerns of our world, to learn about other religions and cultural traditions, and to hear the stories of those who experience oppression and injustice. And so I encourage you to make time to learn this spring. Choose a book that interests you, research a topic you’ve always wanted to know more about, talk with a friend and learn from their life experiences. And be open to sharing what you know with others, for we are all learners and teachers in this journey we call life!

Devotional was written by Rev. Tara Ann Gourson, March 2021.