If you want to learn a new skill, would you prefer to sit under a teacher of that skill or their assistant? I don’t know about you, but I would go straight to the source. I’ve always been one who sat on the front row so I could get as close to the teacher as possible so I don’t miss anything. If I truly want to learn something, then I don’t want to take the risk of missing a thing. I want to absorb all I can.
I have been in church since I was a little girl. I’ve attended Sunday school, the worship service, revivals, retreats, Bible studies, book clubs, you name it. If it had to do with learning about Jesus, I’ve attended it; however, I have to say the greatest education I’ve ever received has been in the most intimate of classrooms. It has been one-on-One with Jesus. He is the greatest teacher of all. Let’s face it, why would we want to hear something second hand when we can hear it directly from the source. Second hand information isn’t allowed as testimony in a courtroom because of the chance of its fallibility, yet many of us rely completely on second hand instruction of the Word and Jesus as our only source of enlightenment.
King David knew the greatest teacher of all. He knew the priests and the elders in the synagogues could only teach him so much. To learn all he wanted to know about the Lord, he would have to go to the source. In Psalm 25:4-5 he cries out to the Lord to be his teacher. “Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” The message puts is like this: “Show me how you work, God; School me in your ways. Take me by the hand; Lead me down the path of truth. You are my Savior, aren’t You?”
There is no greater teacher than the Lord. There is no danger of the instructor misinterpreting the text or not gleaning the incorrect meaning. He is always available. There’s never a conflict with His schedule. He can meet you anywhere and He loves the topic.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a student of Kay Arthur, Beth Moore, C. S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers, A. W. Tozer, and the list goes on. I learn a lot from them, but they are not my primary teacher. They are a source by not THE Source. My greatest insights into the Word of God, my “ah-ha” moments come from my time alone with Jesus when I ask Him “What does this mean? How do I apply this to my life? What are you trying to tell me here?”
The door is open. The Teacher is in His classroom, ready and eager to teach you mysteries. Remember His promise in Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” It’s time to learn the great and unsearchable things. Pull up a chair. Listen. Class is about to start and you don’t want to miss a thing.