The Humility-Driven Gospel

I’ve been in school most of my life. Even between the time I finished graduate school and came to seminary, I was a teacher, and so I was still in school, I was just on the other side of the desk. And one thing I learned about myself in all those years of education was that I am a visual learner. Now, I’d like to think that when somebody explains something to me that I can understand it OK. But often times I don’t really have a proper grasp on something unless I can see it. If someone is trying to teach me to do something, I usually ask them to do it first while I watch, and then to watch me while I try it.

I don’t think that principle has been any more obvious to me than when I’ve had to assemble furniture, like a desk or a bookcase. I open the box, lay out all the materials on the floor, take out the instructions, and I read this: “Connect three Shelves and Bottom Panel to the Left Side Panel by aligning the pre-drilled holes on the cleats of the Shelves and Bottom Panel to those of the Left Side Panel. Secure by inserting an Allen Bolt through a Spring Washer and a Flat Washer through the pre-drilled holes on the cleats of the Shelves and Bottom Panel and into the pre-drilled holes of the Left Side Panel using the Allen Key.”

And on the brink of despair, just as I’m about to decide that we don’t really need a new bookcase, and that we can just pile our books up on the floor, I read three blessed words: “See Figure One.” And there’s hope! I can see a step-by-step, graphical representation of what it is...

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