I have taught piano for over 40 years. So many children, a few adults, some were memorable, a few hard to forget. One little boy’s mom called me to ask if I would take him as a new student. He had come home from school and wanted very badly to learn to play the piano. He pestered her until she called me.
I distinctly remember his first lesson. I saw him jump eagerly out of the car and run to my front door. He had his books and notebook. We went through the first lesson of posture, finger position, wrist position, practice process, playing, and the week’s assignments. It didn’t take long before time was up and he left for home.
Later that evening, I received a call from his mom. “Well, he won’t be coming to any more lessons,” she said. Horrified, I asked what I had done to make him quit already. She replied, “It wasn’t you. He just thought he’d learn it all today and then be able to play whatever he wanted.”
Some Christians are like that. They rest on the fact that they placed their trust in Jesus Christ and that’s it. Nothing more needs to be done. Others think that going to church once a week is enough learning to carry on their Christian walk. However, many understand that there is so much more to do, to learn. With a heart that wants to know God more, we turn to the Word of God, for in it His heart and His glory are revealed to us.
Imagine buying a very expensive car but never reading the owner’s manual. After a year of driving it, your friend who has a similar car, asks how you like the seat warmers and coolers. You are astonished, because you didn’t even know it had seat warmers and coolers. You eagerly ask what else you’ve been missing.
If you are not reading your Bible, studying your Bible, attending Bible studies, you are missing out! The beauty of the Bible is that you can read a passage once and it feeds your soul with comfort. Months later, you read the same passage and it convicts you of a sin. We are blessed to have study materials that help us think more deeply about what a passage is saying. We have a myriad of translations and paraphrased Bibles that may help us understand what the writer, inspired by God, is saying. The more I read the Bible, the more I see the character of God, and the more I want to please Him through worship and obedience.
You cannot learn to play the piano in one lesson. It takes years of study and practice. You cannot faithfully walk with God without consistently studying the precious gift of His Word. Commit now to study God’s Word or even to lead a Bible study with others. It doesn’t always have to be the pastor’s wife.
Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
