Tip of My Iceberg

There are so many things you can learn to do on YouTube. From how to handle money to creating science experiments, from life skills to self-improvement. I’ve even begun to learn to watercolor courtesy of an artist who demonstrates technique and the encouragement of a dear friend who inspired me to try.

My daughter Courtney sat with her son Beck to learn how to draw minions from one of these videos. “Art for Kids Hub” is a father/son duo who share this creative experience. The dad talks his son through the process, teaching as they experience drawing together.

How brilliant is this? The dad isn’t asking the son to do something on his own–he shows him how it’s done, giving an explanation of why he’s drawing the way he is. His son isn’t doing it the exact same way–dad is allowing him space for creativity.

We continually need to learn new things from the time we’re young. If it’s something that fascinates us, it doesn’t feel like a lesson–we want to develop a skill set. New technology or new insights into topics that intrigue us draw a lot more passion for learning than possibly school did for many.

Learning prepares us for what we need to know as we’re growing. As a child we’re not aware of what we don’t know; everything is a learning experience.

But if we watch someone doing something that fascinates us and appears to be something fun, exciting, or important, we’re more likely to ask to learn from that person.

The disciples Jesus worked with for three years were observers for the first part of His ministry. They accompanied Him as He shared the gospel, healed people, and helped those in need. They watched and heard all He had to say.

Jesus was preaching to a very large crowd of people who had gathered on a hillside to hear Him. They’d come from villages far away to hear and see what He would do, and even though He’d already put in a long day, He had compassion on them; He healed their sick and spoke to them of how they could be guaranteed forgiveness.

It was getting late, and the disciples were concerned that the crowds, who’d been there a long time, needed to leave to get food on their own.

“‘Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves. But Jesus said, ‘That isn’t necessary–you feed them.’ ‘But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!’ they answered. ‘Bring them here’, He said.” Matthew 14:15b-18

These were two tiny fish and five small loaves, a small meal for anyone. Jesus blessed the food and began handing it out, telling the men to distribute it among the people.

Everyone had more than enough to eat, and when it was over, the men collected twelve bushels of leftovers.

These disciples had seen Jesus do miracles, and they longed to help Him in His work. But here they were allowed to learn what it meant to trust God and believe Him for what they needed. What the people needed.

Jesus offers to teach us about His truth; He accompanies His teaching with the reality of His presence with us, in us, if we choose to listen and learn.

Our choice.

Jesus says we’re loved; how often do we feel alone? Jesus says we’re strong in Him; how often do we feel weak?

We can choose to believe what He teaches or ignore what He says and believe what everyone around us is saying and doing.

Like drawing a minion, it helps to watch Someone who knows what they’re doing.

With all Jesus went through for us, learning life lessons from Him is better than we can imagine.