Comments on: Five Qualities of Lifelong Learners

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:45:47 +0000

Ken,
I like what you are doing. You begin with the assumption that you have much to learn in Scripture and then you read. That has to impact what you actually discover and learn.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:44:41 +0000

Dave–Thanks for your comment and for the reminder that such learning takes intention and effort.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:43:31 +0000

Chris,
You are so right about the loss of curiosity being a sad thing. Coupled with that is often a loss of joy and the simple gifts God gives us each day. A sunrise. A sunset. Rain. Food to eat. People to love and be loved by. These things are just taken for granted or they may be acknowledged but they no longer bring any joy.

By: Jim Martin

Jim Martin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:34:16 +0000

Michelle,I appreciate your comment and in particular, your noting that it is God who often wishes to work through those who are younger to teach the rest of us something.Thanks so much.

By: Chris Brundage

Chris Brundage — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:45:19 +0000

Thanks for this post. I like #5 especially, maintaining a sense of curiosity about life. I’ve seen people for whom curiosity has died, and it’s a sad thing. I learn mainly through reading and through reflecting on the sliver of experience life brings me. Peace to you today.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:37:09 +0000

A great post. I fully agree with Michelle’s assessment of #3. Until we admit that there are things we do not know we will never learn. How do I keep learning? I have been blessed to work in a university setting, and here it is almost hard to not learn. Like the old professor in your post, I know that every one has something to teach us. Knowing this though doesn’t mean we will actually learn anything. We have to listen to people too. I know that is very easy to say, but I also know how much effort it takes. And so do you. Thanks for listening. Make it a Great Day!

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:30:41 +0000

In answer to you guestion, "What are you doing to keep learning?" I have begun looking for the little phrases and nuggets in scripture that I have missed over all the years of study. It is amazing how many stand out when you are looking for something new. Every time I read God’s Word he points out new things I have missed before. What treasures of new blessings are in God’s Word.

By: Michelle Van Loon

Michelle Van Loon — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:55:26 +0000

I’d like to underscore number 3 on your list. For a good portion of our lives, we’re instructed by those older than we are. Somewhere between ages 40 and 55, many of us realize that someone younger than we are is in a position of some kind of authority over us. We will likely have a doctor, pastor, boss or even a president younger than we are. We all encounter this reality as we age. The teachability factor in our lives means that we want to really hear what these younger voices – both authority figures and, even more important, younger friends – have to say. If we minimize or dismiss what they might have to teach us simply because we’ve lived longer, we shut down an important pathway God uses to speak into our lives. (Scripture’s Exhibit A – Timothy. Exhibit B – Jesus and the little children.) I am learning this now, because I’m smack-dab in the middle of that middle-age range, and I’ve had to face a bit of pride I didn’t know I had as I’ve been taken to school by younger leaders and friends.