Pursuing our Destiny – Part 4

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:1&2).

Last week, I invited you to think about the importance of God’s Word in our pursuit of our destiny.  Allow me to remind you that we are destined to become living icons of Jesus (Romans 8:29).  All Jesus followers shares the same destiny; the details will differ from life to life, but all of us who trust Jesus are destined to be conformed to his image.

The “blessed” man in Psalm 1 strengthened himself by meditating on God’s Word—the “law.”  He understood the value of thinking about the law of the Lord.  The continual thinking about the things of God strengthened him and brought blessing to his life; it also protected him from sin.

For millennia, Christians have read the Word of God, but I am concerned that we often just meet the obligation, not letting the Word settle in our souls, a settling that’s needed if we’re going to experience transformation from the inside out.   We do some plan to get us through the New Testament or through the whole Bible in a year.  Perhaps we read a chronological Bible that takes us through Scripture in a year.  Some may use the Daily Office from a prayer book.  With the advent of the Internet, our options are almost unlimited.  That’s not a bad thing, but just reading isn’t enough.

The man in Psalm 1 meditated on what he had read, and that’s a little foreign to most of us.  We think of cults and eastern religions when we think about meditation.  And sadly, many of us who follow Jesus just haven’t discovered the value of a spiritual practice that focuses our minds and hearts on God’s Word.

Remember that this series is about spiritual practices/disciplines that will transform us and lead us to become more like Jesus.  The Word of God is central to this transformative life style; we can’t do without it.   So, I want to introduce you to a way to read God’s Word that Christians have used for hundreds of years.  It’s called Lectio Divina or Divine Reading.

Last week I mentioned a book by Jim Wilhoit and Evan Howard, Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture into Ordinary Life.  In their book, the authors describe Lectio Divina as “the reading of a lover: the relaxed waiting that is as attentive to the relationship as it is to the text.  Though not divorced from analytical study, it is slower and more meditative.  It is where reading and prayer are bound together.”

In this way of reading, we bring ourselves to the text.  We read slowly, watchfully, listening for God’s Spirit to bring to our attention what he knows we may need to see.  We’re not in a hurry.  In the words of Wilhoit and Evans, we bring ourselves to the text—our eyes, our questions, our circumstances, all of us.  We watch as we read, paying attention to how the Spirit of God shapes our time in the Word.  And, we allow the Scripture to soak into us, changing our hearts and transforming us into the image of Jesus.

This way of reading includes several pieces: the actual reading, meditating, praying through the section of Scripture we’ve read, and contemplation, which is what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, “Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10a).  It is a slower, more deliberative way of bringing ourselves to God’s Word.  It is reading for inspiration more than for information.  There is a time and place for both kinds of reading, but I submit to you that reading God’s Word only for information will never transform our lives and make us living icons of Jesus.

Someone once commented on maintaining the status quo by saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.”  If you don’t see God’s Word transforming your life, maybe it’s time to try a new way.  I’m far from being an authority, but if you would like to pursue this way of coming to the Word of God, expecting the Spirit of God to transform you, a child of God, I’ll be glad to share what I’ve learned and encourage you any way I can.  Just respond to this post, and I’ll be in touch.

Our common destiny, to be conformed to the image of Jesus, warrants our best efforts to engage with God in the transformation process.  I want to take one more week to talk about this spiritual practice, and then we’ll move on.  I invite you to consider a different way of coming to the Word of God, Lectio Divina; it may be something God’s Spirit is calling you to consider.  Please listen carefully. – Pastor John Strain is retired from full-time ministry and now a regular blogger for Freedom Fighter. He is also available for pulpit supply

Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 1-2; Matthew 20:17-34

Quote of the day: Christianity is not a religion at all but a way of life, a falling in love with God, and through him a falling in love with our fellows. J. B. Phillips

Bible Memory: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.—Psalm 119:106 ESV