Building a Life Worth Living: Building Knowledge

These days, when searching for knowledge I don’t possess, more often than not I turn to the Internet. It’s always there for me, it’s always turned on, and it’s rare that I can’t find what I’m looking for. I wanted a good recipe for baking sea bass. CLICK. Found it! I needed help organizing storage on my laptop hard drive. CLICK. Figured it out! Granted, not every piece of information available online is useful or accurate, but it’s never been easier to gather knowledge.
Building faith-based knowledge is more than a casual pursuit for Lutheran Christians. It’s the response to a demand that God made long ago in the Old Testament: “Impress them [these commandments] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
I hope it doesn’t come as a surprise to readers of the Sentinel, but the Holy Bible remains the primary source for knowledge about Jesus. If you are still in school, it may sometimes feel like this knowledge is being forced on you in the form of Bible history lessons, Catechism memory work, hymn study, etc. Your instructors are simply complying with the command cited above!
No matter your age, the search for knowledge requires certain attitudes—a heart that longs for knowledge, a mind that values knowledge, and a love for instruction. A person with these attitudes will make daily Bible reading a priority, utilize opportunities to study the Word of God alone and with others, and not take such opportunities for granted.
In his first letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged his young friend to pursue diligently knowledge of the Scriptures. He said, “Be diligent in these matters” (1 Timothy 4:15). If you, like Timothy, make the study of the Bible a priority, progress will be evident to you and to others. Of course, the reverse is true as well.
With the Bible as your primary resource, you can find innumerable supplements to help strengthen and focus your knowledge of Jesus and the salvation He offers to all believers. They may come in the form of commentaries, Bible storybooks, relevant articles in Christ-centered publications, or other people who are more knowledgeable than you.
For those of you who prefer reading the Bible online, there are plenty of good choices in different versions and languages. CLICK. BibleGateway.com is the one I use!
Daniel Madson is a former school teacher and a member of Abiding Shepherd Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.