In this we are not following an invention of our own purpose which is nothing of itself but - in some poor account admittedly - the footprints of holy scripture and of our predecessors who expounded them.

  - Anonymous, Liber de Ordine Creaturarum (Irish, 7th century)

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

  - 2 Thessalonians 2.15

Let's be honest: Most of us are pretty dull. Our world revolves around relatively small stuff - going to work, taking care of the family, watching some TV, staying up on the news, enjoying some time with friends, going to a movie.

It's small stuff, OK; but it matters. It matters to us, that is. But it's not earth-shattering or even perhaps life-changing. We won't get a page in the history books alongside the movers and shakers and rich culture makers of our day.

We're just dull.

But is that really OK? I remember Howard Hendricks in a lecture one time talking about the Christian as the light of the world, with the critical message everyone needed to hear. How can we persuade people to believe the Gospel? Dr. Hendricks fairly pled with his audience when he insisted, "Make yourself an interesting person!"

He drove a stake into my soul, who was at the time about as shallow a college graduate as you'll ever meet. Our worlds may be small and our projects important only to us. But we are involved with people all the time. None of us is a hermit. We touch the lives of others, and when we touch them, we must not fail to enlighten, enliven, stimulate, or provoke them to think of things higher than our common mundane experience.

Christians should be learners. "Learner" is the basic meaning of "disciple." This is our Father's world, and He has entrusted it to our enjoyment, use, and care (Pss. 24.1; 115.16). The Lord speaks to us through two "books" - divine Scripture and the world of creation and culture (Ps. 19). He calls us to press on to know Him, explaining that this is the essence of the New Covenant and the substance of eternal life (Hos. 6.3; Jer. 31.31-34; Jn. 17.3).

It is incumbent on us to get on the path of knowing in order to fulfill our discipleship, understand and appreciate our calling, and enjoy and serve our God. And our anonymous author, who is about to embark on a far-ranging summary of everything that is, reminds us that this path is not one of our own inventing ("which is nothing of itself"). Rather, the Scriptures and our forebears in the faith have shown us the way of true learning. We must hold fast to the traditions revealed in Scripture as our forefathers have followed and lived them over the years.

But this means taking up the call to learning in a wide range of fields and disciplines. "Make yourself an interesting person!" Learn something about how our Christian ancestors have taken the Gospel into such areas as art and literature, music, science, business, law, politics, government, care for the environment, and much, much more.

Tuesday at 6:00 Eastern begins the transit of Venus (look it up). The first human being to observe this event was a Christian, Jeremiah Horrox, who, in 1639, used his God-given intelligence to calculate the time and figure out how to accomplish the observation. Upon doing so, he gave praise and thanks to God. On publishing his findings, Horrox wrote, "all the observations which could possibly be made in so short a time, I was enabled, by Divine Providence, to complete so effectually that I could scarcely have wished for a more extended period."

On Tuesday, mention that to someone and ask, Now why do you suppose it took a Christian to observe and record this rare astronomical event?

Make yourself an interesting person. Get on the path of knowledge. Let the Scriptures and our forebears lead you. Let your light shine!

Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 10.3-5).

We've been dullards far too long already.

T. M. Moore, Principal

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