A medieval city wasn’t like the modern one’s we are accustomed to. During the Middle Ages, the cities of Europe were the hub for all trade and commerce, but most cities had populations that ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands… far fewer than the hundreds of thousands and even millions of people that live in today’s bustling metropolises.
Medieval cities were enclosed by thick stone walls and served as havens of safety against invaders – a refuge awaiting the real populace – the rural farmers that only came to the city for two things: safety or trade. Very few people lived in the cities, but almost all the commerce happened in the cities. The farmers lived in the country, but they sold their wares in the city center.
There were two major centers of activity for a medieval city. The first was the marketplace at the heart of the city. This big open air square was surrounded by other public buildings like the townhall, the local chapel, and other important governmental buildings. But today, we want to leave the city center and travel those narrow medieval streets to the edges of town where the tradesman lived – it’s time to find the masters of the Middle Ages.
I’m Scott Beyer and this is the Love Better podcast where we explore the truths and lies about love and more importantly how to turn love into a skill – something we can get better at and hone along the way.
This year, we are learning to love better by exploring the greatest commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. We’ve searched our hearts and plumbed the depths of our soul for how to love the Lord better, and halfway through the year it is time to investigate our minds. How do we love God with all our mind? What does that even mean? This week is the eighth in a ten-part series on learning to love better with our minds… and today, we need to master our thoughts.
In Medieval Europe, artisans and craftsmen were specialists with skills and training that was passed from one generation of tradesman to the next through apprenticeship. These craftsmen worked in specific quarters of the city organized by the craft guilds. Blacksmiths, bakers, weavers, goldsmiths, and even cobblers all had their own guild halls. Within these halls, the secrets known only to the masters lived and breathed. Guilds set the standards for quality, and the expectations for the level of craftsmanship. This ensured consistency and maintained the reputation of the guild. But something happened over the years, guilds found members cutting corners, using inferior materials, or allowing men to work as artisans with insufficient skills. Guilds across Europe were alarmed to find their reputations being marred by artisans that didn’t have the skills or the sense of responsibility to master their craft. The solution?
In guilds across Europe, apprentices as young as 12 began a rigorous training program under the tutelage of the best craftsman the guilds had to offer. Apprentices eventually became journeyman and then, when they were ready they applied to become masters. The final test was a single piece made by the student to the highest standard possible, from shoes to stained glass to golden goblets, the journeyman became a master by submitting the very best they could offer to the guild. This final test of craftsmanship became known as a masterpiece.
Proverbs chapter twenty two, verse 29 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
As long as there have been people, there have been masters. Masters are those who hone their skills to a level far above average – mediocrity is not in their vocabulary, and they have taken the time (sometimes decades of their life) and committed the resources to pursue excellence.
And historically, we honor masters. From athletes that can run faster, jump higher, and throw further to songwriters, musicians, and vocalists that have honed their craft. We may not have medieval guild halls anymore, but we still honor those who can build a better product or deliver a bespoke experience. Even our coffee is elevated to the level of artisan nowadays.
If we are going to love the Lord and our neighbor with all our mind, we have to decide that mastery is worth the effort. We need to be all in. If love is a skill, and I believe it is, we must decide it is a skill worth mastering.
There is an old story of a preacher with an exceptional memory. He had memorized extensive sections of Scripture – so much so that he often quoted entire chapters in his sermons. After one particular lesson where he had taught throughout the Bible quoting from both Old and New Testament without ever turning a page, a woman approached him and said, “I would give half my life to know the Scriptures as well as you.”
His answer, “Ma’am, it’s taken all my life. Half would have been a bargain.”
Craftsman will tell you, the cost of mastery is high. If it wasn’t, we’d all be masters. Master writers throw away more manuscripts then they ever publish. Master carpenters scrap entire projects because a flaw in the wood was noticed too late or a measurement was off. Master athletes practice that difficult hook shot long after others have called it a day and left the court.
Masterpieces are never the first piece a journeyman makes – they are the culmination of trial and error, attention to detail, and a willingness to view failure as a springboard to success.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he talks about this idea of pressing forward toward perfection when he says,
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. “
If the apostle Paul isn’t a master at loving the Lord, I don’t know who is… and he made it clear – perfection is something to always strive for. Learning to live like we ought, love like we should, and seeking mastery is an ongoing process.
In the guild halls, the rules were strict. All apprentices and all journeyman served underneath a master. Mastery was attained through apprenticeship. You find a rolemodel, get them to accept you, and then you do as they say until your fingers become as adept, your eyes as observant, and your mind as educated as your master. You learn by doing and you learn by following.
In the New Testament, we don’t call it apprenticeship – we call it discipleship. If we want to love the Lord and our neighbor – we must find a master to disciple under. That master is Jesus.
Jesus is so much more than a Savior. He doesn’t just save you from your sins, He desires for you to be His disciple – His apprentice. Walking like He walks, seeing the world through His creative eyes, and thinking like He thinks.
In Luke 14:33, Jesus told those who wanted to be His disciples, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
A medieval apprentice wasn’t given a wage – they worked for free and their master provided them with a place to stay, equipment to work with, and food to eat. Jesus’ offer is similar – if we want to be His disciple we must be ready to be reliant on Him in all things.
That’s a tough choice in a culture that praises self-reliance. It’s tough when serving Jesus puts things like jobs, friendships, and personal preferences on the line. Discipleship is a decision that mastery is worth sacrifice and transformation requires discomfort and change. If you want to become what you never been, you are going to have to do things you’ve never done.
In John 12, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.”
The apprentice’s old life ends when he is accepted by a master. Most apprentices were very young when they started. Leaving behind parents, siblings, and their agrarian lives, they moved into the city and spent their days with the master. Where the master goes, they go… they become his shadow and whatever the master needs, no matter how small, the apprentice does.
If we are going to be Jesus’ disciples, we need to be ready to go where He goes – spending time with people that are needy or unsavory. Jesus spent His days amongst the sick, the oppressed and enslaved, those broken by the consequences of their own sins, and children. He looked for needs, slowed His schedule to speak with those that others felt were unworthy of His time, and spent His nights and early mornings in prayer. He spent His money to feed the poor and He graciously accepted the help of others.
And those that followed Jesus and shadowed His lifestyle – were transformed. Even the enemies of Jesus would eventually say of His apostles that their behavior had been molded by their Master. In Acts 4:13, the Sanhedrin confronted Peter and John, two men that had started out as common fishermen, and what does the Sanhedrin say?
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Act 4:13)
Apprenticeship or discipleship – whatever you call it… it will change you. It’s meant to. Time spent with the Master is transformative. If we want to love more like Jesus, a good place to start is to look at our schedules. What would Jesus add to your schedule? What would He remove? Are there places He would be going that you aren’t? Are there places you are going that He wouldn’t?
Remember those guild halls of medieval Europe? Let’s talk about them again for a second. What happens to those masterpieces so lovingly crafted by all those hopeful journeymen? Every masterpiece was kept by the guild as a reference and example of their craftsmans’ skills. It would often be stored in the guildhall to showcase the standards of the craft. Masterpieces were often publicly displayed within the hall and even at special events and festivals as a demonstration of what the guild was and what their tradesman were capable of.
How does that translate to us? In Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, he tells them that their lives are the masterpieces to be presented before God.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1)
We need to start thinking of our lives as masterpieces in the making. What sort of master craftsman is Jesus anyways? He is a shaper of souls and a redeemer of souls. To be His disciple is to be remade in His image. The goal of discipleship is to change who you are. The most important thing in your life is who you are becoming. To love the Lord is to become who He wants you to be.
And that is exactly what 2 Corinthians 3:18 is talking about when it says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2Co 3:18)
What does it mean to love with all our mind? It means to become apprentices of the Master allowing our mind, and by extension our entire lives, to be shaped after Him… and in that pursuit of discipleship – don’t accept mediocrity.
Learn to love better – follow the master and make your life a masterpiece.
As always, thank you for listening and hopefully we've done something to help make your life a little bit better. If you have a chance to rate, review or share the podcast it would be a blessing. By sharing with others or leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify, you help us reach more people.
Or maybe you have a fun history fact, a feel good news story, or a riveting scientific fact you think could help us love better, I’d love to hear it! Feel free to email me at scott@biblegrad.com
And if you are ever in the Louisville, KY area, I’d like to invite you to worship with us at the Eastland congregation. We meet for worship every Sunday and have Bible classes for all ages Wednesday’s, too. If you want more information about Eastland, visit us at eastlandchristians.org. Or if you are looking for more tools to enrich your Bible study, visit my personal Bible site, Biblegrad.com, where you can sign up for daily Bible devotionals called Biblebites and receive them in your email each morning, take online Bible classes, or find videos that will help you study through the Bible throughout the year.
And until next time, “Remember, you are loved, so go… love better.”
