Distance Learning

Posted On January 23, 2022

“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 TLB

The college where I teach has decided to switch to virtual course delivery for most classes during the first two weeks of this semester (or until the local COVID numbers start to decline). So I have been busy recording videos and posting course notes online for the classes that I was originally scheduled to teach in the classroom. This should only be temporary. We hope to be back on campus soon. In the meantime, we will do the best we can to make it work. Watching videos and trying to learn math from a distance is not ideal for students who signed up for a face-to-face class, so I am trying to give them as many tools as I can to help them.

As I was thinking about this week’s post, I realized that many of the things I tell my students for being successful in a distance learning course apply to us as Christians, too. Right now, we don’t see God face-to-face. We have to learn about Him from a distance, and things are sometimes hazy. But, like my classes, this is only temporary. If we are followers of Christ, we will be together with Him soon and we will see everything clearly. In the meantime, He has given us some tools and advice to help us succeed.

Study the Textbook

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT

The first thing I tell my students is to read and study the textbook. The information contained there lays the foundation for everything we will discuss in the course. It may seem like a waste of time to them when their main goal is just to get the homework done. However, as my students often learn the hard way, trying to jump in and solve the problems without some basic knowledge first can be difficult and frustrating. Need an example? Here you go.

Find the integral by using a trigonometric substitution.

Can you solve this calculus problem right now off the top of your head? Maybe so, but I’m willing to bet that you probably can’t. Don’t feel bad. I can’t either, and I taught this class! After a brief refresher I would be fine teaching this again, but it’s been a few years since I taught calculus and I’m a little rusty. Luckily, I had the solution saved on my computer. Here it is:

So, now do you understand it? Um, probably not. Unless you have access to a calculus textbook, and a few years of prerequisite mathematics knowledge, I doubt that it makes any sense. All this math may look impressive, but I’ll tell you a secret. Compared to algebra, calculus isn’t really all that difficult. Parts of it are, yes, but overall, learning calculus is not harder than learning earlier math classes. It’s just a matter of building on your previous knowledge. Learning mathematics is a process, and it can’t be rushed. You can’t jump ahead to more advanced lessons until you master the earlier lessons. But once you do, you can learn all kinds of amazing things!

So where am I going with all of this? Well, like mathematics, Christian lessons can’t be rushed. And we can’t just dive in and start solving problems without some basic knowledge first. God has given us a textbook, one that He wrote Himself, and we have to start there. We must read and study His Word before we will be equipped to deal with the problems we’ll have to face. And we’ve got to master the basics before we’ll be ready for more advanced concepts. This may take years. And like mathematics, sports, music, or anything else that takes time to learn, we’ve got to practice. We’ve got to develop some “muscle memory” so that what we need to do in a given situation becomes second nature to us.

While my calculus skills are a little rusty, my algebra skills are not. I have been teaching algebra almost nonstop since 1993, so I could probably do algebra in my sleep. It saddens me to say that my Christian skills are nowhere near that level. This is because I haven’t put in the time that I should have to develop them. But if I keep studying and keep practicing, I am confident they will be someday. Thankfully, God is patient with us. He will not scold us for our lack of progress. He will meet us where we are and move us forward from there. God has amazing, unique plans for each one of us. But no matter where we are in our Christian journey, whether we are advanced students or just beginners, we are all expected to read and study His Book.

“Even if there is no one else around to instruct you, God reveals Himself to you through Scripture … . The Bible did not originate with people; it came from God’s mind, and its principles carry His power. … through Scripture, God trains you by renewing your mind, deepening your faith, healing your most profound strongholds, and transforming you into the likeness of Christ. The work of God through the Word is powerful because, ultimately, He is preparing you for all He will do through you. … the Lord makes you fully qualified, complete, and perfectly fit for the tasks ahead.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life

Follow the Examples

“I’ve given you an example that you should follow.”

John 13:15 NOG

As a math teacher, probably the most helpful tool I can provide for my students is a set of examples to follow. Learning the theory of a mathematical concept is the first step, but to learn how to apply it we’ve got to see it in action. For instance, sampling is a concept covered in the first lesson of my statistics class. Here are a couple of definitions that we discuss:

With stratified sampling, we subdivide the population into at least two different subgroups (or strata) so that subjects within the same subgroup share the same characteristics (such as gender or age bracket), then we draw a sample from each subgroup (or stratum).

In cluster sampling, we first divide the population area into sections (or clusters), then randomly select some of those clusters, and then choose all the members from those selected clusters.

Does it make sense? Maybe. But it would make more sense with a couple of examples:

Example of stratified sampling: Suppose we have 5 bunches of grapes. We take a few grapes from each bunch.

Example of cluster sampling: Suppose we have 5 bunches of grapes. We choose two of the bunches and take all of the grapes from them.

Talking about grapes instead of strata, subgroups, and clusters makes the concept of sampling methods a little easier to understand. As a Teacher, Jesus often provided similar down-to-earth examples to help His disciples understand abstract concepts. For instance, to explain what it means to abide in Him, He used an example of, well, grapes:

“I am the grapevine, you are the branches. The one abiding in Me and I in him— this one bears much fruit. Because apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 DLNT

Jesus’ teaching was full of these kinds of illustrations. In fact, His entire life demonstrates how God wants us to live. He wants us to follow His example in everything we think, say, and do. These are the lessons He wants us to master, so we’ve got to take them one step at a time. We can’t rush through them. And we can’t ever assume that we know all there is to know. We need to keep digging into Scripture and mining every nugget of wisdom we can find. When we are taught a new concept, we need to practice it daily and review it often. We’ve got to take the time to learn each lesson so well that it becomes second nature to us. And then we’ve got to go back and try to learn it even better. Why? Because we often sell ourselves short. We put limits — limits that God never intended — on what we think we can accomplish. We’ve got to remember that with Jesus as our Teacher, nothing is impossible!

“In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ And immediately the fig tree withered up.

The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, ‘How did the fig tree wither so quickly?’

Then Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.'”

~Matthew 21:18-22 NLT

“Jesus had no doubt about the effect His words would have on the tree.
What would it take for you to speak without doubt, expecting every word to be fulfilled?”

Karen Moore, It’s Still Possible

Have you reached that level of faith yet? I haven’t. But I don’t plan to stop learning and practicing faith until I do. And even then I will try to learn some more. Am I being unrealistic? According to Jesus, no, I’m not. Not at all. Often, my students will convince themselves that they can’t do math before they even try. They think it’s too hard. I have to keep trying to convince them that they can do it. But if they don’t believe me, if they don’t try, then they will fail. In fact, at the end of every semester most of the “F” grades go to students who just stopped submitting assignments. They quit trying and gave up. The same is true for us. If we convince ourselves that the Christian life is too hard, if we don’t even try, then we will fail. But if we step out in faith and trust Jesus to guide us, we will be amazed at what we are able to accomplish! Jesus told us we can do this. We just have to choose to believe Him.

“If you’re hungry for new direction, go to God and seek His confirmation of those things you believe you are meant to do. After that, move forward with confidence, knowing you are not alone and you are meant to succeed. God wants to hear you say out loud, ‘Yes! I can do it!’ When you have confidence, God creates opportunities and circumstances to propel you toward your goal. There will be no time for doubt. In fact, doubt will wither up and blow away.”

Karen Moore, It’s Still Possible

Get Help from Your Tutor

“The Helper is the Holy Spirit. The Father will send Him in My place. He will teach you everything and help you remember everything I have told you.”

John 14:26 NLV

In addition to providing us with a Book to study and examples to follow, God provides a personal Tutor for each one of us. As Christians, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. But I think we tend to underestimate how amazing this gift truly is! We have the Spirit of the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving Creator of the universe dwelling inside each one of us, ready and waiting to help us. Wow! If my spirit could somehow dwell inside each one of my students and help them learn everything they need to know, I think they would be pretty astonished and grateful! Let’s not take this gift for granted.

One reason we may not fully appreciate the Holy Spirit is that we don’t quite understand what He does. At least, that was true for me. I’m not sure we can every fully understand everything He does, but I think the main thing He does is communicate with us. Because He dwells in us, He can speak directly to our spirit. He can highlight certain verses in Scripture to focus on. He can bring something to our mind at just the right time. He can prick our conscience when we are drifting off-course. He can even intercede for us when we just don’t have the words to express to God what we need. Basically, He is our direct link to God because He is God.

“The Holy Spirit is our counselor and our teacher, yet He is more than a teacher — more like a tutor. But He is not just any tutor; He’s the kind who truly loves to spend individual, personal time with each of His students. He is like that rare kind of guidance counselor who actually becomes a friend. He is like that teacher who becomes a personal mentor. … As we graduate from one level of spiritual development to the next, He remains our lifelong personal Tutor. … As we end our days on Earth, He even prepares us for our postgraduate course in life hereafter! All along, He individually instructs us as to what life lessons we need to learn, and even in what order to take them.”

James W. Goll, The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God

If you have never experienced the Holy Spirit, reach out and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Then keep your eyes, ears, and heart open. It takes time to learn to recognize Him, but God promises that when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). The Holy Spirit is mysterious. He’s wise, and He’s powerful. But most of all, He’s our Friend.

“For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.”

Romans 8:16 TLB

This week’s Scripture passages remind us to study the Textbook, follow the examples, and get help from our Tutor. This is how to be successful while we wait for the day we can see our Teacher in person. This is not an easy course. There will be many lessons to learn and tests to take. But once we master some of the concepts we can begin to help others. And if we keep trying, if we keep learning and practicing, if we refuse to put limits on ourselves — if we step out in faith and believe that we can do this — then nothing will be impossible for us!

“I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.”

3 John 1:14 NIV

References:

• Goll, James W. The Beginner’s Guide to Hearing God. Regal from Gospel Light, 2008.
• Moore, Karen. It’s Still Possible: 100 Reminders That God Can Do All Things. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
• Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.

Images:

• Camera Lens featured image by JUNO KWON from Pixabay
• Landscape image by David Mark from Pixabay (edited by me)
• Phone Image by Jenny Smith on Unsplash
• Man Studying Image by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels
• Computer Image by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels