Today’s Reading: John 7:12-13 (NIV)
15 The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?” 16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me.”
Good day!
My father was born during the depression, when the necessities of life were scarce and precious commodities. Daddy went to school with his brothers and sisters in a one-room school house four miles from their family farm. His teacher was a distant relative; one of his mother’s cousins. It was there he learned to read and write and work math problems on a small, slate chalkboard. Daddy learned as much as he could and graduated from that one-room school house with an eighth-grade education. Daddy supported his family for forty years as an electrician and carpenter, with the eighth grade education he received.
An eighth grade education will not take you very far by today’s standards. A prospective employee will have a much better opportunity at getting the job they want if they can produce a college degree and continued education (such as a master’s work or specialization studies) on their personal resume. Higher education carries great weight in today’s workplace. One may not have a specific degree for the position to they are applying, but having completed a college degree may make all the difference in being considered for the position. Likewise, not having that degree may very well keep you from the job opportunity you’ve always wanted.
The Jews kept questioning Jesus’ teaching. Some thought He was prophet and others believed He was the Messiah. Jesus’ curriculum vitae did not include having studied at synagogue under the wing of a personal tutor. They wondered how one man could gain so much wisdom without having studied with the best religious teachers in the land. Jesus contended that His teaching was not His own. It came from the Father who had sent Him.
When it comes to higher education, there is no greater instructor than our heavenly Father. We can spend thousands upon thousands of dollars and invest years of study toward the pursuit of degrees and certificates and pieces of paper that confirm we are capable, qualified, and basically certifiable. Someone once said that God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. God may choose to use an uneducated, unqualified candidate by cultural standards to spread His Word around the world. He does it all the time throughout Scripture. He does it even today. God will not disqualify you from serving Him simply by what may or may not be written on your personal resume. He looks deeper than the piece of paper you hold in your hand, and chooses to personally examine your heart.
Is the Father preparing you for His kingdom’s work? Can you hear Him calling out your name?
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC -
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