"Old Dogs"

EPISODE 239

Series: Cross Training • Lifelong Learning: Discipleship

Keep Following and Learning Until the End

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They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Is that really true? Maybe it's a reality for our canine companions, but doesn't it feel a bit insulting to equate our age with an inability to learn or grow? Sure, we'll probably develop habits into deep ruts over time, making it difficult to change course. Maybe our fear of venturing out of our comfort zone will take over. But no matter our age, there's always more to learn and new opportunities for growth in our walk with the Lord. So, this week as we kick off our last mark of the Master, we come full-circle back to the central idea of this whole journey: discipleship!

We're Cross Training to develop our lifelong learning, the last of twelve marks of the Master we've worked on this year. Lifelong learning comes when we follow Jesus as disciples, hunger and thirst after righteousness, examine ourselves, and seek out wise counsel. So how do we maintain a learner's mind, irrespective of our age or experience level?

What You Need to Know

A disciple is a learner, a student of Jesus who listens to him (Luke 9:35). We let our Lord's life and teaching remake our lives — that is the essence of discipleship (Luke 6:40). When we enroll ourselves in this training academy of Christ — so to speak — we fulfill God's promise that those in the kingdom will "be taught by God" (John 6:45; Isa. 54:13). If we don't continually place ourselves under the tutelage of Christ, submitting to his authority, why would we ever call him our master? As Jesus asked, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46).

Before Christ ascended, he gave his disciples a mission, to go "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded" (Matt. 28:19-20). So making disciples includes more than a baptism. It requires instruction — so that Christ can reform people as they do his commands. Our life is a race (2 Tim. 4:7), an ongoing contest which requires constant training and correction until the end (Rev. 2:26-27). So we listen to Christ's instruction every day, looking toward that finish line where we'll finally reach our goal and "attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:10-16).

What You Need to Do

Embrace correction. Think of yourself as a work-in-progress with many more challenging lessons ahead of you. Learn from the example of Peter, who — even as a respected leader of the church — needed Paul's correction when he separated himself from Gentile Christians for fear of false teachers in "the circumcision party" (Gal. 2:11-14). Paul's rebuke was just another in a long list of course corrections in Peter's journey, from confrontations (Mark 8:32, 33) and moments of doubt (Matt. 14:30-31) to hard lessons (John 21:17-23) and disorienting new truths (Acts 10:12-15). Peter's success came from his willingness to keep going and keep growing, and so will yours if you keep listening and learning.

Give encouragement and wisdom to other disciples along the way. Sometimes a disciple's humility makes us so aware of our need to grow that we think we can't teach anyone else. But following Christ's example means speaking to others with the meekness of a fellow-student. Christ, who always listened to the Father, could "speak just as the Father taught" him (John 8:28). In Isaiah, the Messianic Servant says, "The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught" (Isa. 50:4).

Take up your cross again today. Jesus said that those who follow him would need to do it under a cross (Matt. 10:38). Or as the next verse puts it, we have to lose our life for him to save our life (Matt. 10:39). Dying to ourselves and living for him (Gal. 2:20) — easy to say, hard to consistently do — we discover the joy of service, sacrifice, and submission. Each day brings new opportunities to develop as lovers of God and others (Matt. 22:36-40). "For to me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21).

Through the Week

• Read (Mon) — John 6:44-51; Luke 6:39-49; Matt. 8:19-22; 17:1-8; Eph. 4:17-24
• Reflect (Tue) — What doors of growth and progress are opening for me the older I get?
• Request (Wed) — "Oh Lord, increase my love for you as I grow older in your service" (cf. Eccl. 12:1-8).
• Respond (Thu) — Express your appreciation to an older believer who's been an influence on you.
• Reach Out (Fri) — What are you continuing to learn that you thought you already knew?