Entering the Divine Classroom

June 15th, 2007

By Julie Robertson

I am a complete nerd. I love to read. I love to study. I can get lost in a good book or even just an interesting person

I am a complete nerd. I love to read. I love to study. I can get lost in a good book or even just an interesting person (from the Bible or history). Research projects were always hard for me. Not because I hated doing them, but because I would get so involved in the person or subject I was studying that I would just have to force myself to stop.

I think it is safe to say that not many people find themselves in the same boat. I meet few people who would say the same things I just did. But that does not make the discipline of study any less relevant or important to you. Engaging in the discipline of study is like entering into what I call the “divine classroom.” This is a place of intense learning. It is a school from which we will not graduate any time soon. There is always knowledge to be gained – about God, about ourselves, and about our world.

The discipline of study is one that engages our mind in critical thinking and reflection. It can be verbal (books, lectures, newspapers, magazines, documentaries) or non-verbal (nature, events, actions, world, self, others). It informs our thoughts, habits, and daily life. In my own experiences, the discipline of study has served to strengthen, sustain, surprise, satisfy, and set me free. It can do the same for you if you will submit yourself to it.

One of my favorite professors at Asbury Theological Seminary was Dr. M. Robert Mulholland. My best description of him is that he is a “pious” man in the way that word used to mean something. He is well-read, humble, genuine, kind, and all of the positive words you can think of that should describe each one of us who call ourselves Christian. This is due in no small part to the fact that he has submitted himself to a lifetime of learning. While he could boast more knowledge than most of his peers and certainly his students, this brilliant man always seemed to come up right alongside his students.

His book An Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation informs my own thoughts on study. He says, “The liturgy of study…is a means of offering ourselves to God, willing for God to do with us as He chooses.” I think it is safe to say we all want that for our lives. The Bible is replete with passages that encourage us to give ourselves wholeheartedly to study (see Ezra 7:10, Psalm 119:11, 105, Luke 6:46-49, Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:15-17 to name a few!).

Explore the disciple of study in your own path of spiritual formation. We will never learn all that we need to learn in this life. Our lives should be a reflection of that. In other words, we should always be engaging our minds and seeking to deepen our knowledge of ourselves, our God, and others. If we do not, we will find ourselves “handicapped in our growth toward wholeness in Christ and our ability to be God’s person for others” (Mulholland).

Here are some tips for entering into the “divine classroom”:

Keep a notebook or journal close to write down notes and reflections during your studies.
Use Bible Commentaries and other reliable resources to inform your study only after you have spent person time in the Word.
Read a variety of books: Bible, Christian Classics, Literature Classics, Autobiographies, etc.
Find extended periods of time (hours or days) to devote to the discipline of study.
Form a book club or discussion group.
Remember that the key is not how many books you read, but explicating and understanding what you do read. The aim of study is to inform and transform!

And some Resources: