Seeing things afresh

There's a lot to be said for teaching.

Quite a few years back, I was in a bible study group that was full of really, really lovely people. But every week it was hard to drag myself along to the group, harder still to actually open the bible and read it together.

Why?

It was a really hard time because it seemed a little stagnant. Every person in the group could rightly have been leading a group of their own. We were all knowledgeable, we all knew the relevant bits of the bible, and each weeknight when we met, we all held forth on our long-held views. Answering the study questions was almost too simple for some members of the group. It was really nice to see the people each week, but we were all a little dry.

Maybe we are supposed to always be circulating in Christian ministry. As we learn and grow as Christians, I think there's a time for all of us to become teachers. I don't mean that everyone should move from new Christian to minister of a church. But for us to keep growing, we can't just take in the information and sit on it. We're given the gospel and the bible to share. The more we learn, the more we should share it with others.

The more I pass on, the more I realise I don't know everything. The more I spend time with people who ask me questions, who want to know more, who don't know a huge amount about certain parts of the bible, the more I want to get back into that as well. It's not a situation where I should sit around until I think I've learned everything. I get to share the journey of learning with the kids, young people and adults I'm sharing with. And through that journey I learn, too.

And man, that's exciting.