By Ron Toel

In all the times that I have read the Bible, a question continues to haunt me. It never states in the Bible about the education of Jesus. It talks about him debating with the rabbi’s and it talks about him helping Joseph, his earthly father, but it never states whether Mary taught him to read and write, or if he went to the rabbi’s to be trained or if he could even read and write. In John it asks the question “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned.” This implies Jesus was not educated as we know education.

I, then, ask myself about the times in which Jesus was alive. Egypt, Greece, and Rome had many learned individuals……but in reality all of the area of the Middle East was basically what we would call today….. a “third world” area, meaning education was not in existence. Most of the people were nomadic herders or traders and the education was mostly passed from father to son in the realm of a family business.

Yet since he was the Son of God, did he have divine intervention so as to make Jesus an outstanding image representative of his Father. His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures shows how diligently His early years were given to the study of God’s word, as proven by the debate with the rabbi’s.

Spread before him was the greatest of all libraries…….that of God’s created works. He who made all things studied the lessons which His own hand had written in the sky, the seas, and the earth. Apart from the unholy ways of the world, He gathered stores of scientific knowledge from NATURE. He studied the life of plants, and animals, and the life of man. From the earliest times he was there with a purpose……He lived to bless others. For this he found resources in the natural world. New ideas flashed through his mind as he studied the life of the plants and animals. Continually he was seeking to draw new ideas from things seen in illustrated forms of the natural world in which to present the source of wisdom of God. During His ministry, He loved to teach by the use of parables, the lessons of truth to show how open His spirit was to the influence of nature, and how He gathered the spiritual teachings from the surroundings of His Daily life.

Thus to Jesus, the significance of the word and the works of His Heavenly Father were unfolded, as He was trying to discover the “meaning of life”. He had legions of angels as his attendants and His daily communing with His Father was the culture of His holy thoughts. He was constantly growing in the knowledge of truth.

As we become acquainted with our heavenly Father through the written word, our minds will be strengthened , our character will be elevated and refined, and the Holy Spirit will draw near. We shall become more like our Savior, in wanting to bless others. As we study and behold the beauty and grandeur of nature, our affections go out to our Creator. While our spirit is awed, the soul is invigorated by the coming in contact with the our Creator by the understanding His works……the natural world.

Those of you who know me, have heard the words “Amazing or I am Amazed” come from my mouth. The natural world is so full of amazing things that cannot be explained, or questions that cannot be answered. There are hypothesis for explanations but the truth is yet to be known.

I am amazed at………

How a baby Arctic tern grows and gains strength and then migrates to Antarctica, by itself as they migrate singularly.

How a weaver bird learns to build a nest.

How a spider knows how to spin an orb or a web.

How a 17 year cicada can remain dormant that long and survive.

How a body works, with all the different systems working together as one.

Don’t forget that little barnacle hunting for that sea snake.

Many, many more such examples.

I believe that there is a difference between innate and instinct. Instinct is defined as a biological drive: an inborn pattern of behavior characteristic of a species and shaped by biological necessities such as survival and reproduction. Innate is defined as present from birth: relating to qualities that a person or animal is born with coming from mind: coming directly from the mind rather than being acquired by experience or from external sources. I see the two as greatly different and to me…..instinct is an acquired trait even though it may not be learned through teachings, and innate is the tiny bit of our Creator which was left behind in each of the creations. Would not that explain the “How’s” mentioned above? Or do all of the creations, each have their own legion of angels to help them as Jesus did?

These all are questions that I will be asking when Jesus makes His coming to take us home. Have you got your list ready?