THEY WERE UNLEARNED AND IGNORANT MEN – Acts 4:13
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
You do not need to be well educated in order to be used of God. Peter and John were not educated like the religious leaders were, but because of their wiliness to put God first, God was able to use them to turn the world upside-down. Paul on the other hand was very well educated, and God used him to affect the lives of millions.
When we are commanded to add knowledge to our lives, God is not asking us to obtain degrees from schools. Instead, God is asking us to obtain a better understanding of the ways of God. God desires that we learn to understand who HE is and how HE works in our lives. God understands that if we better understand who HE is, then we are more likely to fully dedicate our lives to serving HIM and fulfilling HIS perfect will.
Paul had all this education yet he did not know who God was. He thought he was doing the will of God by persecuting all the Christians when in fact he was doing the exact opposite. Until Paul met the Lord, all the worldly knowledge that he possessed did him no good. However, once he understood who God was and what HIS perfect will was, God used the zeal of Paul.
Prior to Peter and John following Jesus for three years, you do not see Peter or John doing great things for the cause of Christ. They were uneducated and they did not understand who Christ was, let alone what HIS plan was for their life. Over the course of three years, Christ gave HIS apostles a better understanding of the ways of God. Jesus educated HIS followers in the way that they should go so that when HE left, they did not depart from them. The time that these men spent with Jesus changed their lives. With the power of the Holy Ghost upon them, they now had the boldness to preach the gospel of Christ to all those who God crossed their paths with.
If you really want to know someone, you will spend time with them. The same is true with God; if you really want to understand who God is and what HE desires you to do, then you will take the time to be with HIM. Every minute that you spend getting to know the Lord better will not be a waste. Peter was not able to preach and bring thousands to the Lord just because he met Jesus once. Instead, Peter spent three years getting to understand the love of God. Since Peter was uneducated, yet you see him able to quote so many scriptures, the only way he could have had that understanding was by sitting at the feet of Jesus and learning what was important to God.
Why is it in our current society that Christians think it so important that they spend so many years dedicating their lives to obtaining a worldly education yet they are not willing to spend even a few hours a day learning what God desires for their lives? As Christians, we need to understand that our relationship with God should be the most important thing. The more time we spend understanding God, the more HE will use us to reach this lost world.
Where are your priorities? Are you spending time each day developing your relationship with God so that HE might receive the glory? Make time for God. Make God an important part of your life by scheduling time with HIM. Jealously defend the time you have for God because the better you understand who God is and what HE desires you to do, the more fulfillment you will have in your life as you pursue HIS perfect plan.