What making a big mistake at Bible college taught me

At first, I thought they were wrong, but as I stopped for a moment, I knew they were right.

I had made an exegetical error. And a pretty big one. I was so sure of my theological position that I imposed it upon the text. The strange thing was for the question in particular I had come to the same overall conclusion, but my mistake would have led to some wrong beliefs.

Well, maybe that’s too far. But it certainly was missing what the passage was about.

As I reflected later that day, part of me wanted to prove I was actually right. I had checked in commentaries before presenting my findings, that had to mean something, right?

But I knew I was wrong.

And that made me feel despair.

Struggling with mistakes

If I could make such an obvious mistake after a couple of years of slowly working through these studies, what hope was there? These are big issues, I need to get them right. And If I can’t...what then?

I almost gave up and quit.

But then I realised, this is the point.

I joined Bible College to correct my mistakes

Learning involves making mistakes and being corrected.

The reason I wanted to take these classes in the first place was to identify and correct these types of mistakes. This was the process working. If it confirmed everything I thought, I wouldn't have needed to study here.

Sure, it would have been better if I had got it right the first time. And I probably could have if I'd understood our core readings better and applied them properly. But applying isn't as easy as understanding.

I will certainly remember this lesson more now.

Being more careful in the future

So I’m continuing my studies.

I will work hard to avoid this mistake (and others) in the future and thank my classmates for their correction.

Just like the growth pains I used to experience as a teenager, correction is uncomfortable. But I’ll take the discomfort if I can grow.