Learn Daily

John 8:31 If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

Ever had to learn a foreign language? I remember when I was little--we're talking 1985 or 1987, something like that--there was a commercial for some interactive video to teach kids a foreign language. They would always show the same two cartoon characters who were saying hello and how are you in French. So that was my first taste of a foreign language. Then in fifth grade, we had some French foreign exchange students in our class, so I learned how to count up to 10. Unfortunately, 1-8 is all that stuck. So then in middle school/high school I took on German, because I had a German pen-pal and I thought it would be cool if we could talk. I never did too well in German. However, just to complicate matters more, in college, I took up French again. So, I had 1-8 down, but anything after 8 and I would start counting in German. And just in case I hadn't complicated matters enough, my last two semesters in college, I took German, again. If you ask me today how much I remember of either language...yeah, not much. But my flash cards make great scratch paper.

So what does that have to do with what Jesus said? Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples, indeed." A disciple is another word for student, someone who diligently and purposefully studies something. In this case, Jesus was telling them they must study, or learn what Jesus was teaching them. He knew this His Word, actions, and concepts would be "foreign" to them, so He told them they must "abide" in His Word. The word "abide" comes from the Greek word "meno," which means "to remain." If His disciples were to learn Jesus' ways, they had to daily, walk with Jesus and learn what He was teaching them. Jesus was giving them the tools they would need to continue on their journey. This teaching is also needed for being married.

When a couple is first married, they are "in love" and their spouse can do no wrong. Check again after three years and things might not be as rosy as they were before. Check again in 7 years and things could be worse, perhaps rocky. Check again in 5 years, and they could be divorced. It happens all the time. The divorce rate is at 50%. Why is it so high? It's because being married is like learning a foreign language. Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called, The Five Love Languages, to try to give us one tool to help us learn how to speak this foreign language. Now, this book does not have all the answers and one should not expect that it is the end-all-beat-all cure; it is simply a tool. Like so many other great books, it is an aide to help you along the way, but you and your spouse must still put in the work. I asked my grandpa once--he and my grandma had been married 54 years when she passed away--what made their marriage so successful. He said that he gave everything he had for her and she gave everything she had for him. They had a strong marriage. They had taken the time to learn the "languages" of love and marriage, and then they followed the examples that Jesus gave.

Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you," (John 15:7). What do you desire? A successful marriage? Your dream job? Your health restored? Your kids living for Jesus? Restoration for your family? It can all be yours, but you must put in the work. You must spend daily quite time with God. You must tell God your desires. You must confess your sins when He reveals things to you. And, finally, you must allow Him to work in your life.

Are you ready for some great changes? Let's pray:
Lord, I confess that I haven't learned the most important language of all: Your language, Your Word, Your Truth. Lord, forgive me for not studying as regularly as I need to. I realize the only one it hurts is me. Lord, give me a desire and a hunger, once again, for Your Word, that I would feast on it daily. Lord, I too, want You to give me the desires of my heart, but Lord, I also want to do the desires of Your heart. As I spend time with you each day, please reveal to me what they are, so that I can truly learn Your language, Lord. I pray these things in Jesus' Name, Amen.