(The following is the March 17 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Luke 10 and pay close attention to verses 21-24.)

There is tremendous value in formal and informal education. We learn to read as children, then reading and experience enable us to pursue subjects of interest for the rest of our lives. We commit years to institutional learning as children, youth, and adults. We pursue continuing education to stay abreast of the latest developments in our fields of expertise. Some professions require years of preparation beyond college before enjoying the full credentials necessary to practice that profession.

In church-related vocations, formal education is also integral in preparing ministers in ways they might never discern on their own. God gave us brains and expects us to use them for his glory. To be willfully ignorant or uneducated when we can do otherwise only assures that we fail to use our God-given abilities.

As helpful as it is, worldly knowledge has its limits. It may inform us how to send a spacecraft to Mars, operate on the tiniest vessel in the human body, and build impressive architecture. Still, human knowledge will never introduce us personally to our heavenly Father. No class in school, university, seminary, or church can guarantee a personal experience with Christ. Only God can work in the human heart and reveal himself in ways that draw us to him (John 6:44).

Jesus acknowledged that God sometimes hides things from those with worldly wisdom and intelligence, instead revealing such matters to others. Praise him that he gives his children intimate knowledge of Christ regardless of our education level or perceived intelligence.

Next Step:
Is there a subject or skill you would like to pursue to make the best use of the mind God gave you? What next step can you take in that direction? How has God revealed himself to you personally that could never have come from an educational setting? Praise him for that.