Going to school

 

Daniel 7:19-27

It took me a while to understand the difference between going to school and learning. I was an adult before I learned that lesson. As a mere student, I found out what I needed to know to get through. When I was kid, I hated the questions at the bottom of a page. Those were the put-into-practice-what-you've-learned scenarios. All I had learned was how to get by. And, truth be told, I got by with good grades. I could pass a test. But something changed when I finally wanted to learn. To sound a bit cliché, a new world opened up to me. That applied to school work in college and in life. Even faith and ministry took on new meanings. It's possible to get through school and church, after all. Daniel 7 introduces one of Daniel's dreams. The prophet not only interprets dreams, he has them. If there were a movie about Daniel, this would be his wake-up-in-a-cold-sweat, terrified scene (Daniel 7:28). I've woken from a dream I've wanted to remember plenty of times. Usually, a soon as the details get a little foggy, I decide it's not worth the effort to try to recount my experience. Not Daniel. In the seventh chapter, he twice says something important. Whoever the attendant was in his dream, Daniel approached him "to ask him the truth concerning all this" (7:16). One detail seemed to bother him much more. There were four beasts and Daniel "desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast" (7:19). Daniel wanted and needed to understand the truth behind what he experienced. And he went after it.  Forgive me if I ever complain too much about shallow and self-centered sermons. I'm just convinced God's word is more than fortune cookie material. There is great truth behind the stories passed down to us. The truth is there, but how interested are you in pursuing it? Stay blessed...john