Living Water or Stagnant Pool?

Howard Hendricks shares this insight about the value of learning: When I
was a college student — I worked in the college dining hall, and on my way
to work at 5:30 every morning I walked past the home of one of my
professors. Through a window I could see the light on at his desk, morning
after morning.

At night I stayed late at the library to take advantage of evening study
hours, and returning home at 10:30 or 11 o’clock I would again see his desk
light on. He was always pouring over his books.
One day he invited me home for lunch, and after the meal I said to him,
“Would you mind if I asked you a question?”
“Of course not.”
“What keeps you studying? You never seem to stop.”
His answer, “Son, I would rather have my students drink from a running
stream than a stagnant pool.”

See:  Psa 1:1-3; Psa 119:97

A teacher is not there just to acquaint you with the tools of your
trade; a teacher is a tool of your trade, no matter what that trade is. You
never stop needing teachers. The great musicians never stop taking lessons,
never stop trying to improve. The great concert pianist, Arthur Rubinstein,
used to say that if he missed a day of practice, he noticed it in the
quality of his performance. If he missed two days, the critics noticed. And
if he missed three days, the audience noticed.

See:  Psa 25:4-5; Psa 143:8; Psa 143:10; 2 Tim 2:2

And Jesus Christ has provided us with the greatest of Teachers, the Spirit
of Truth who will lead us into all truth, one step at a time if we will but
open our hearts to him.  How often we are distracted by the cares of the
world and turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit?  Let us learn the lesson from
Arthur Rubinstein and practice hearing the Holy Spirit every day so that
the world can truly see we have been with the Master Teacher and have
learned our lessons. John 16:13