Labor Day is past and school is back in session. Our two high-schoolers are midway through their second week of class.
In a way, I envy them their ability to focus on studies and learning without having to pay attention to the sometimes mundane details of earning a living. But I’m glad that being connected to a spiritual community gives me the opportunity to continue learning in a formal way every week.
In the Baptist tradition in which I was raised, there is a high premium put on learning. Worship services in Baptist churches center on the sermon, which is usually a careful exploration of a passage from the Bible. Preachers are expected to explain the text where it is difficult to understand and then to draw practical lessons in how to live life based on that passage. Most Baptist churches feature an education hour prior to the worship service where Bible-based learning activities are offered for every age group, from toddlers to retirees. When I was growing up, we usually returned to the church building in the evening for more education and another worship service with a sermon.
Baptists, of course, are hardly the only religious group to take lifelong learning so seriously. All practicing Christians devote some amount of time to studying the Bible. In synagogues, the Torah and its commentaries are carefully studied. Knowledge of the Holy Quran is central to Muslim practice. The Bhagavad Gita and the Sutras are revered by Hindus and Buddhists, respectively. In general, people of faith take their scriptures seriously as sources of wisdom, encouragement and comfort.
It is important for us, no matter what our faith or philosophy might be, to reconnect on a regular basis with the founding documents of our belief system. These books have lasted the centuries and even millennia because they have significant lessons to teach us about how to live life with integrity — with ourselves, with our community, with whatever Higher Power that we recognize. By studying the scriptures of our faith, we connect with those who hold similar beliefs around the world and across time. Being well-grounded in our own faith makes us more able to understand that of others.
I’m glad I have the regular opportunity to study the book that has been most influential in my life — the Holy Bible. Lifelong learning is especially important when the topic is our spiritual development.
The Rev. M. Christopher Boyer is pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Lynnwood.
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