Learning Styles in Jesus’ Classroom

Please receive instruction from His mouth and establish His words in your heart.

Job 22:22 NASB

In a previous season of my life, I was a high school English teacher.  I loved unfolding the pages of literature books and sharing insights with young learners.  I knew that while some students were eager, most of them were not.  That was okay with me.  It was a challenge. I used different approaches to teach the essential aspects of whatever we were learning.  Students have different ways of acquiring information.  Experts call them “learning styles.” 

Sometimes in class I acted out Shakespearean plays in one-woman shows.  Students who might have tuned out while we read iambic pentameter watched with interest and amusement as I changed voices and positions. I could be both Brutus and Julius Caesar, directing both so that my audience would understand the importance of relationship and motive. One year I had to allow a student to sit silently with his eyes closed, trusting that he was soaking up what we discussed in class.  That one was difficult for me at first because it was against all old-school philosophy! However, he did quite well on the test, having listened and processed the conversation that went on around him. It was a victory for both of us.

Am I paying attention in God’s class?

How does God get through to me, I wonder?  I love studying scripture.  But does He expect me only to pull things from His written Word?  Or does He act something out for me, demonstrating that He is in control of the situations around me?  Does He watch me sit silently with my eyes closed, with no expression on my face, trusting me to soak in His Word and direction? 

Remember to pay attention to the literature of the Lord.  He is a master teacher, and He has more than one teaching strategy. For that I am very thankful because I don’t always learn the first time around. Maybe you don’t, either.  Have you ever had a day or a week when a scripture keeps reappearing? Perhaps it starts in devotional reading, but then you see it on Facebook or hear it in a song on the radio.  Or, maybe you experience some random encounter with the scripture theme acted out for you in your life or even on television.  

Have you ever had a day or a week when a scripture keeps reappearing?

Do you take time to sit and pray about the Word that keeps showing up?  Do you have quiet time listening to God as you soak in the Word?  If you experience a recurring scripture, don’t ignore it. Set time aside to ask God what He is trying to teach you.  He doesn’t teach all of us just by written literature.  Look around and see the different ways He is offering His Word to you. It isn’t coincidence when themes pop up again and again.  It is God presenting them to you through different teaching styles.

How does He teach you best?