The Wonder of Learning

There is always something beautiful about us. Whether it be small or big, it makes up the beauty of God's creation. When sitting inside my dorm room, I look around and see evidence of two people sharing the room harmoniously, making up the overall impression of the room. But how did two different people, each from states in the opposite corners of the U.S, come to integrate so intricately? Of course, it took substantial amounts of learning about one another, as well as setting rules that applied to both of us and took us accountable for it. This extensive, tiring amount of learning involved is an example that Paul Marshall takes about in his article "The Wonder of Learning".

So what constitutes learning? According to Marshall, it is hard work, perseverance, and integration. One prominent example of perseverance and hard work Marshall talks about from Isaiah 28:23-29.

When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil?
When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin?
Does he not Plant wheat in its Place,
barley in its plot,
ønd spelt in its field?
His God instructs him
and teaches him the right waY.
Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin;
Caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cummin with a stick.
Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshingit forever'
Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over
it, his horses do not grind it.
AII this also comes from the Lord Almighty
wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.

Isaiah 28:23-29

Marshall exclaims that this passage presents to us the necessity for perseverance and hard work. God does not immediately tell the farmer how to plow. The farmer himself must look to his parents, neighbors, and even the earth to learn and develop new skills for farming more effectively. Like this, we must use the God-given tools around us to develop, learn, and connect more effectively. We cannot pray and expect God to suddenly implement knowledge into our brains. Looking around, there are endless possibilities of growing and learning - if you try, that is.

But what I found most important about this article was the implementation of such acquired knowledge. Marshall states that the Bible, the Word of God, does not teach us everything. In certain situations, we must use our knowledge from the Bible and implement it into those situations. And more importantly, there are rules in this world that God has created. Whether it is natural or societal, we must learn the rules FIRST in order to play by it properly. Take the Bible for example. I'm sure that there are rules given to us in the Bible that most Christian know of...(wink wink). Once those rules are integrated within us, we can really grow into the endless world of possibilities God has given us.