He possessed books, renounced fully claims of kinship:/for love of learning he gave up wars, gave up strongholds.

  - Beccan mac Luigdech, Tiugraind Beccain (Irish, 7th century)

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

  - 1 John 2.15

Colum Cille came to Iona in the middle of the sixth century as an exile from his beloved Ireland. He had given up the opportunity to become king by becoming a monk. And he gave up the opportunity to become abbot of his monastery by leaving Ireland, as some accounts have it, under a cloud of discipline.

But he came to Iona to serve the Lord Jesus, and once he arrived, there was no looking back. Colum took up the study of God's Word, creating a center of piety, scholarship, and missions which played a major role in taking the Celtic Revival to Europe.

Love of learning is one of the characteristics of the leaders of this period of Church history (ca. 430-800 AD). They loved the Scriptures and the works of the Church Fathers, studying and teaching them, and making abundant copies for the hundreds of monasteries and churches they founded.

They loved learning more than food, comfort, or sleep. Their love of learning was an important way for them to show their love for God. Following the example of Patrick, Colum Cille, and others, Irish missionary/monks let go of the world and its comforts to take up the disciplines of piety and study. Thus they prepared themselves for service in the name of the Lord and for the sake of His people. And they turned their world rightside-up for the Lord.

You cannot love the comforts of the world and expect to be an effective servant for Christ. There must be a denying, a renunciation, an exiling of yourself from every familiar comfort or diversion which holds you back from pursuing knowledge and love of God.

The Christian life is serious business. Seeking the Kingdom of God is hard work. Colum subjected his body to rigorous spiritual and physical discipline so that he could be used of God to make disciples and evangelize the lost. When we love God like this, we will take up the calling to learn as much as we can, so that we can be as useful as we can, for as long as we can.

And maybe, like Colum and all those Irish monks, we will leave a legacy of Kingdom greatness that will be remembered for generations to come.

If you're serious about learning, I'd like to hear from you. Visit The Ailbe Seminary and consider how you might prepare for years of effective growth and service in the love of God. It won't cost you much.

Just the rest of your life.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.