Imagine little six-year-old Anne Mary starting piano lessons. One of the first things she learned was shaping her hands like “a waterfall” or “a rainbow.” She learned how to “sit tall,” but also to relax.
Now imagine ten-year-old Anne Mary’s lesson. She learned about relaxing her arms, and moving her fingers.
Now imagine Anne Mary, now sixteen, practicing Bach. What is she working on this week? Relaxing her shoulders, moving her fingers, relaxing her wrist. The same lesson that she has learned again and again for almost ten years. Does this mean that she hasn’t gotten any better at piano? No, she is just learning how to relax more and more, how to move her fingers more smoothly.
It is the same in my walk with God. When I first had a relationship with Jesus, I learned simple lessons. I knew that I had sinned against God, but that Jesus had paid the cost for my sins. Because I was thankful to God, I wanted to be good like He wanted me to be.
A little later, I had my heart broken by a friend. I knew that I should forgive my friend, but I couldn’t until I remembered what God had done for me.
Now, I am trying to be self-disciplined, but I keep failing until I remember that obedience comes from God’s power, and from gratefulness for what he had done. I’m not learning a new gospel, I’m not “past the baby truths,” I am just learning how to apply them to new areas of my life.
What lessons are you relearning?