The Way Of Christ

I have found that one of the most difficult things in my walk with Christ is to allow myself to be taught by Him, rather than be driven by my constant endeavor to learn about Him. 

Beloved, there is a fine line between learning versus being taught. There can be an aggressiveness to learning. Whereas, to be taught, requires a certain degree of submissiveness. A pupil who is taught, needs to be silent and still while they receive the teacher’s instructions. It is difficult to teach when the student is asking questions the whole time. It is difficult to teach when the student spends much of their time trying to anticipate what the teacher is going to say next so they can run out ahead. It is difficult to teach when the student assumes they understand before the teacher is done with the explanation. 

You cannot teach someone who already thinks they know. This is why Jesus didn’t choose anyone from the religious establishment to be His apostle. He needed those who were willing to submit to Him in humility, to forget what they thought they knew and admit that they needed to be taught. Those who would allow themselves to be broken, rejected, mocked, and humiliated. Those who were willing to forsake their pride for His sake. 

There is a breaking-down that is needed to build someone up in the way of Christ. Too often, we only seek the building-up and never submit to the breaking-down. When this happens, arrogance invades the church and the sheep are devoured instead of fed. When we only seek to be built-up instead of embracing the breaking-down, the church looks more like the world instead of the kingdom of God. That is because in His kingdom the way up is down, the way of life is to be put to death, to be great is to be the least. In the kingdom of God, to be made worthy of power is to be willing to relinquish it and be weak. For when we are weak, He is strong, and this flies in the face of the dictates of the current prince of this world. 

(John 14:30,31) I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

(2 Cor 12:9,10) And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(Posted on Facebook 11/14/2020 Talitha Koum)