Sunday 10 May, 2020

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Here we have people who are commended for two things: receiving the teaching of the word with eagerness, and also examining the scriptures to see if what Paul was teaching was correct.

This is a good model for us of how we should respond to teaching. We should be (1) eager to receive and learn new things and (2) diligent to examine what we hear and test it against the what we read in the Bible. Developing both of these qualities is essential for growth and maturity.

Some people are really eager to receive teaching and take on-board anything they hear without taking the time and effort to see if it lines up with the Bible’s teachings.

Others are so focused checking up on all the facts and the “letter of the law”  that they become cynical and lose their open-hearted eagerness to learn.

Lord, help me to be an eager learner and a diligent examiner of what I am hearing. Help me to keep an open heart and to be a determined seeker of truth.

Written by Shelley Witt