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\u201cFor this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you\u201d (2 Peter 1:12,13).<\/p>\n
A GOOD PART OF WHAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO GROW SPIRITUALLY IS SIMPLY TO BE REMINDED OF WHAT WE KNOW. There is much to be said for learning new facts and principles, of course. But most of us already know most of what is needed for a rich relationship with God. The problem is that we don\u2019t keep in mind what we know, and we don\u2019t always do what we should about it.<\/p>\n
Teachers have always known the necessity and the importance of review. It is almost as if our knowledge is worn away by the erosion of daily living and has to be refreshed. But whatever the reason for the loss of what we\u2019ve been taught, learners are always having to relearn, and teachers who wish to make a lasting mark on the minds of their pupils will pay frequent attention to the renewal and reinforcement of what has been taught. \u201cFor this reason,\u201d Peter wrote to his fellow Christians, \u201cI will not be negligent to remind you always of these things . . . I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The notion of being \u201cstirred up\u201d is also important. Just as we need to be reminded, we also need to be nudged out of our comfort zone. The word \u201cprovoke\u201d is not always a bad word. In fact, it\u2019s a word that describes one of our primary needs. In the New Testament, the need to be stirred up is one of the reasons for the Christian assembly: \u201cAnd let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some\u201d (Hebrews 10:24,25).<\/p>\n
But even with respect to God, we aren\u2019t always willing<\/em> to be reminded and stirred up, even by our friends. It is more comfortable to be left alone. Yet if we\u2019re unwilling to be warned when we need to be warned, we risk losing the very things that could contribute to true<\/em> peace and comfort. There is a sense, then, in which the willingness to be \u201cdisturbed\u201d is the main difference between those who make progress spiritually and those who do not.<\/p>\n From the cowardice that dares not face new truth, Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
From the laziness that is contented with half truth,
From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth,
Good Lord, deliver me.
(A Prayer from Kenya)<\/p>\n