Continuing Education

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 2:9-16
     "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:  for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."
     Some people quit school.  Some people drop out of high school.  Some people, because of their upbringing and the region they lived, were forced to end their schooling at an earlier age then most.  Some people never go to college, or start it and never finish.  Hold on now, I'm going to say something pretty shocking, and especially as a former educator, you may not believe what I am about to say.  Education is not the end-all to success.  Learning is not the single most important thing.  Recently, in my city especially, we have legislators and city officials pushing to lengthen the school day and school year.  I am so against that, you have no idea.   I certainly believe education is important, it is needful, learning is necessary for most things in life.  But do you know what?  There have been plenty of people who have been successful, who have made something of their life, who have forged ahead without as much education as "experts"say you need.  Does this mean I won't encourage my children to finish high school or go to college?  I absolutely will.  And I will explain to them exactly why it will be to their benefit.  And I will also show them the choices they are making to pay Mommy and Daddy rent to live here if they decide to abandon their education early.  Don't worry, we won't charge them a lot, in fact far less if they were to get an apartment on their own, but enough that they understand that once school is over they have to start earning their own way in life.
     I veered off on a rabbit trail there, but I just thought of comparing the education I achieved through school, and the education I achieve through the Bible.  People spend years in school.  I stopped with my Bachelor's and had no desire to go on to get a master's or doctorate.  For me, cramming four college years into five was plenty.  I was done.  Applause for those who go on to more training.  Seriously.  College is a lot of work.  So is reading the Bible.  I mean, it isn't the easiest Book to read.  And as the verse at the top says, there are some deep things in there.  I don't know if I have read any of the deep stuff yet, but if I quit reading, I know I will never get to them.  God says His Holy Spirit will help me to understand the deep things.  Ever met somebody who seems to understand all there is to understand about the Bible?  Pastors are generally knowledgeable about what is in it.  That is because they spend hours studying it.  Now most of them will tell you they don't know everything there is to know, but they probably know more than the average Christian.  But here is the exciting thing.  If I spend as much time in it, I can know as much about it as a pastor (that doesn't mean I should become one, the Bible is also very clear about that).  But if I quit early, if I drop out, if I decide not to continue my education, I won't know as much.  It would be very beneficial for me to know everything it has for me.  God may just be getting to the deep parts but if I give up, He will never get to show me.
     I am a fan of continuing my education, just not in the college realm.  I am in favor of gleaning as much as I can from God's Word, and if I really want to go deep, I need to spend more time in it.  If I want to be successful in the Christian life, I can read a little (and have a little success) or I can read a lot (and prayerfully, have a lot of success).  So I guess I better  buckle down and do some homework, cause God has some deep things to reveal to me.