Lifelong Learner

The Internet has altered the writing / publishing world in a way that I think will only be fully realized when it is looked back upon in the future. I am in the midst of it and enjoy it. I read things I would otherwise never be able to read. My research can be much more broad and encompassing without constantly jumping up and running to my shelves, which still must be done of course! Due to this change I am able to read a broader array of writers than I normally would. I would never have purchased their work but when it is written for all to see on a blog, like this one, then I am more inclined to read it. It is interesting how so many more folks have become experts on one subject or another simply because they have a forum to write it.

A few weeks back I was reading a blog written by a young theolog who was waxing eloquent about all he brings to the table. He described himself in some pretty interesting ways, many of which may be totally accurate. One phrase stood out when he called himself a "lifelong learner." I must admit I thought (and I hope I did not say it aloud since I was in a coffee shop!): "That would be more impressive if the life was longer than just thirty years, especially since the first 2/3 of that time was  not so much his own choice."

Do I consider myself and "lifelong learner?" Well, I certainly hope so. My Dad used to say I was a professional student. I think once you stop learning and stop opening yourself up to the possibility that you may actually have been wrong on some topics, you begin the process to die mentally, and I am convinced it carries over into the spiritual realm of our life as well. There are things I now believe that are almost 180 degrees removed from what I stated dogmatically in pulpits years ago. So, if I a true lifelong learner I am growing, improving, changing, admitting my many faults and seeking a more steady diet of Christlikeness in my life. As I approach my 60th birthday this year, I hope that is read differently than if I had written that when I was half this age.