The Excitement of Sharing Knowledge

Mushroom season is here! After a long wait, fungi are again abundant, which means I am out foraging for mushrooms most of my days off. I’m having a lot of fun and I am enjoying many homecooked, self-sourced meals. It is very rewarding!

I have written before how this hobby has been an inspiration to me in my walk with the Lord. I am experiencing that God is interested in my little interests and is right beside me when I am enjoying myself. Also, the rigorous screening process which ensures I don’t get poisoned has been the best analogy that I can think of in terms of using our spiritual discernment. I am so thankful that God is in all the little things of life. But this year my excitement for foraging has suddenly and radically increased. The reason for this unexpected change? I have started teaching someone else.

I have a friend who expressed an interest in learning the basics of mushroom hunting. We have gone out together and we stay in touch via WhatsApp, and message each time we have a new find. As I am teaching him, I now have a huge incentive to sharpen my own skills. I’m reading books, joining Facebook groups (yes, they exist!) and am filling in the many gaps in my own knowledge. I am finding that, as I have an enthusiastic student (who, by the way, is rapidly on his way to overtake me in knowledge), I myself have a reignited excitement. Never before since my first year of mushroom hunting have I been so keen to go out and find more mushrooms and keep on learning. It is like a mini revival in my love for foraging.

I wonder where you are in your excitement for the Lord. If this has grown somewhat stale, a good question to consider is this, “Who are you currently teaching about Jesus?” Are you discipling anyone? Teaching others about Jesus, and having that ongoing back and forth, is a sure way to increase your own knowledge and excitement about Him. Perhaps we all need to ask the Lord to send us hungry students / disciples. I believe it will stir our hearts and has the potential to return something of that much needed fire to our own hearts.

By the way, I am no expert mycologist. In fact, claiming to be so would endanger my dear friend. I am only an amateur in an enormous and complex field of knowledge. But this does not need to stop me from passing on the bits I do know about fungi. Likewise, we don’t need to be expert theologians, or extremely seasoned Christians, before we can start teaching others about Jesus. The vast majority of the world does not even know Him, so we’re at least one step ahead in most cases. Let us pray that the Lord will light a fresh fire in our heart, as He brings us people whom we can teach about Him.