Line Upon Line: A Principle of Professional Revelation
At 19 years old, I volunteered for a 2-year church service mission assigned to Mexico. I was ecstatic, eager, and anxious to get started.
The problem? I didn’t know Spanish.
As a sociable person under a time-bound engagement, my inability to speak the language was a serious inhibitor to my happiness and effectiveness in the role.
I needed to speak the language! I had to! I wanted to speak Spanish — now.
Unsurprisingly, the need alone to speak the language granted me no sudden leap in skills. No matter how much I wanted to speak Spanish, it would not be immediately given.
Instead, I went to work studying the basic vocabulary. Then moved to common verb conjugations, followed by basic sentence structure and simple conversation, advancing to role-playing lessons, reading Spanish literature, and more.
Past challenges became second nature, giving momentum to master more advanced concepts faster.
After six months, the language barrier was gone. I lived in-country leading lessons, cracking jokes with the locals, organizing service projects, and even dreaming in Spanish.
I went on to minor in Spanish for my undergrad and use it today in my work and community.
And now, 15 years after begging for an easier path to fluency to be revealed, I can look back and clearly identify a key principle in revelation.
Revelation Principle: Line Upon Line
Line upon line revelation is where we begin building the momentum of our new identity as a person who can — and does — receive revelation. (Read more about that here.)
We often want revelation to feel like turning on a light switch in a dark room where everything is suddenly illuminated. We have a sincere need, a selfless desire driving us to suddenly increase our knowledge or skills.
This does happen, but not often.
More frequently, revelation is a gradual sunrise where the light of knowledge slowly but steadily illuminates, giving its answers over time. The effects of the light are apparent even before the sun’s light is directly on us. We come upon the truth of things incrementally until their warmth is felt in our hearts and mind.
Here’s how it works:
- Identify the limitation of the knowledge or skill that you want to improve. (Hint: What have you been procrastinating? What about it makes you feel uncomfortable?)
- Ask yourself what is one simple thing you can do to augment your ability. (Tip: Ask your SO, friend, mentor, or colleague.)
- Act on what you know. (Pro tip: Amateurs practice until they get it right. Pros practice until they can’t get it wrong.)
- Repeat daily. (Fact: 1% daily growth will make you 37x better in a year.)
The key is to start building momentum towards your goal by any available means.
Line upon line growth gives us specific, personal, and spiritual truths that cannot be given or borrowed from anyone else. There is no fast-lane or shortcut to finding out who we can become. Cramming is not an option for life’s unexpected challenges — which have and will come.
By preparing for these yet-unknown challenges, we will be able to face them with peace, grace, and confidence. With whatever pace you can, start now to increase your knowledge and abilities.
If you are prepared, you will not fear.
“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” St. Francis of Assisi
Line upon line revelation is a steady, fruitful, and soul-stretching effort. It allows us to intentionally evolve our identity and behavior to new frontiers.
Line upon line is a principle of steady growth that will:
✔ Enhance your life with greater opportunities and abilities.
✔ Fill your mind with knowledge and skills.
✔ Enlarge your heart with empathy and awareness.
✔ Augment your soul with truth and power.
“Knowledge once gained casts a light beyond its own immediate boundaries.” John Tyndall
New knowledge revealed does not condemn our past. It enlightens our future.
The light of our knowledge sometimes shines only far enough on our path of growth that we can only take one step.
You must be ready and willing to take the next step, whatever it may be — no matter how small, inconvenient, or uncomfortable that step is.
Until we take that step, the light cannot shine any further.
Enlightenment can start at any pace, at any age, at any ability — and the responsibility of starting all rests only with you.
What is your next line?
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