The Joy of Learning

When my brother was in his late twenties, he gave my dad an interesting birthday card. It said something like, “I’m amazed at how much you’ve learned in the last few years.” My father immediately burst into laughter. He knew exactly what my brother was trying to say.

It seems that when a young man reaches twenty or so, he thinks he knows a lot, more than his Father. Dad doesn’t know much of anything . . . because he’s old and old fashioned.

Then in the next few years, the son begins to realize that Dad was right about almost everything. This was the meaning of the birthday card. My brother was sheepishly admitting to his father that, “Yeah, you were right, Dad.”

Learning continues throughout life, and if your attitude is right, learning is a great pleasure. I have more hunger to learn now than I ever had in my younger years. My office is crammed with books.

Lorraine regularly visits thrift stores. When we are together in a thrift store, I go immediately to the book section. One can find a number of “gems” in a thrift store for two or three dollars a book.

So, I am continually bringing home books. Several times I have added bookshelves in my office until there is hardly anywhere to put another shelve. Often I have a pile of books on the floor, waiting to be shelved, but it is a challenge to find room anywhere on the shelves.

As one grows older he realizes more and more, not how much he knows, but how much he doesn’t know. My pastor of 25 years once said to me, “The older I get, the more I know how much I don’t know.”

Sir Isaac Newton, when an old man, said to one who praised his wisdom, “I am as a child on the seashore picking up a pebble here and a shell there, but the great ocean of truth lies out before me.”

Thomas Edison once said, “I do not know one millionth part of one percent about anything.”

I love to learn. I lover to read. Often God gets me up at 3 or 4 in the morning. When He does, I usually get up immediately. This is my time with Him, to pray, meditate, or write an article. But it is also my time to read and learn. It is my favorite time of the day.

Sometimes, I randomly pick a book off the shelf and just read. The books I have are mostly by Christian writers, but not all. I also have books on a wide range of subjects. I like to read about many things.

Oswald Chambers was a great author. His devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, is one of the Christian best sellers of all time, selling over 13 million copies. Oswald was a learner. He once encountered a young preacher who was a “Bible only” fellow. That is to say, he read only the Bible.

Oswald said to him, “The one who reads the Bible only, does not understand the Bible at all.” He proceeded to write down a reader’s list for the young man that covered a plethera of subjects . . . 50 titles, including books on philosophy, science, literature, and history.

Oswald believed one should be knowledgable in a wide range of subjects and thereby able to talk to anyone about anything. He believed this to be also a tool for evangelism.

Once Oswald stayed at a boarding house where an agnostic was present. By engaging in conversation with the agnostic about a wide range of subjects over a three-week period, he was finally able to lead her to salvation in Christ.

The definition of a disciple is simply, “a learner.”

Billy Graham was a learner, and he was always looking for ways to “learn.” He was constantly looking for ways to improve his sermons.

An example of his thirst to learn is his friendship with Bill Henderson, a humble store owner in a poor black section of Charlotte. Henderson was a little odd, in that he didn’t look like someone in the know of things. He was a small man. The sleeves of his sport coat were too long, and his tie was too long, extending far below his waste.

Though most of the black people loved him, he was often robbed and beat up in his little store. But Bill knew the Bible inside and out and he lived it. He was always praying for people and witnessing to them.

Billy Graham, fresh from air travel all over the country to address large audiences, would come to Henderson’s store, sit on a crate in the back, and listen to Henderson expound on his lavish knowledge of the Bible. Then Henderson would pray for him.

Billy Graham always remained teachable, and his hunger to learn knew no bounds. At the end of his life, he said that he wished he would have preached less and studied more.

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom, And in all your getting, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7 NKJV