Learning a "Language"

Studying: 1 Timothy 1-4
Memorizing: Romans 1:1-20
Thoughts: Good

Reading through 1 Timothy today I thought for a moment on Paul's instructions to Timothy in 4:11-16. I won't retype the whole list of admonitions here, but very practical encouragements to live according to godliness are given. Timothy is to be an "example" in "speech, conduct, love, faith and purity." Timothy is to "give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching." Then we reach verse 15 where it says "Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all."

For the past 6 months my mind has been consumed predominantly with one main overarching task; to learn to understand and speak Russian. Each day it consumes several hours of my time. I have homework, I listen to radio broadcasts, I have vocabulary lists I try to memorize. There's a tremendous amount of repetition involved each day. The whole process restructures the mind to a certain extent. I have to learn to "think Russian" in many ways in order to say things I want to say. When I first started this process everything began in English and then made its way with chops and sputters and awful grammar into something somewhat resembling Russian. Now six months have passed, and there are still many chops and sputters and awful grammar moments, but they've gone down a little, and when I speak it actually resembles Russian a little more (still a long way to go though). Lately I've found myself even dreaming in Russian and passively understanding conversations on the street without having to think about it.

I say all of this not to brag about how well the Russian is coming along. I think there is room for an illustration here. In order to learn to speak Russian well, to train my mind to think Russian and be able to understand each day with greater clarity I have to take pains and be absorbed with it. I have to live it, breathe it, read it, re-read it, study it, study it some more.

One might could say that Sanctification is like learning another language (yet on a far grander scale of importance). But in sanctification the heart, mind, thoughts, senses, feelings, etc. are "retrained" to do that which does not come naturally. While believers, we are still in the flesh, we are still of Adam, and the thoughts passions, desires and lusts are still there. Yet we have been changed, we have been made recipients of the Holy Spirit of God, who has given us a new heart.

To think if we approached learning godliness like we would learning a language. To look at God's Word and ask "How can I talk like Christ? How can I walk like him, be like him, think like him, etc.? How can I be 'absorbed' with Christ?"