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Meditation

Meditation got a bad name among Christians in the 1960's when Eastern Mysticism penetrated North American culture in various forms - some religiously based others supposedly not. This was an unfortunate turn of events because serious Christians have been meditating for centuries to deepen their spiritual life. To separate what I am talking about here from other kinds of meditation I will tell you that the kind of contempletive discipline I have in mind is intentional, conscious, spiritual rumination of a scriptural detail.

I don’t know who first said “If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate.” But I know that it’s been repeated thousands of times - just check it on your favourite search engine. Though not very profound, it is helpful in describing the discipline to people who have no experience with it. Like worry, meditation involves rehearsing something over in your mind, looking at it from different angles and trying to understand all of the possible outcomes and their ramifications. The difference is, worry is negative and rooted in a material mindset, while meditation is positive and focusses on the spiritual.

Meditation is as old as the Bible. God charged Joshua with these words at the beginning of his time of leadership: "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8 ESV)

The Psalms contain many references to meditation. Here are a few representative ones:

In the New Testament, Paul wrote to Timothy: "Meditate on these things (Paul’s encouragement, the Scriptures, Timothy’s spiritual gifts); give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all." (1 Timothy 4:15 NKJV)

Meditation has value for several reasons. It allows us to deepen our understanding of God as we carefully consider who He is and what He has done for us. As this happens, it is inevitable that our appreciation for God will deepen as well. Together, the a growing understanding of and appreciation for God refreshes, comforts and encourages our spirit. Living in a world where there is so much anti-God expression, we can benefit greatly from this. It concerns many in Christian leadership that believers seem to slide quite easily into a secular world view between Sundays.

There is only one negative item to consider here, that is the possibility that the meditation I've been describing might be confused with psychological/spiritual techniques used to induce an altered state of consciousness. Our purpose is not to lose touch with reality, but to connect with reality.

Besides simply being aware of the potential confusion, we can further minimize any hazard of ending up where we don't want to go by staying focussed. As I can attest from personal experience, unfocussed stillness leads to sleep. So it is important to occupy your mind, not empty it (as is often encouraged in other forms of meditation). You might memorize a sentence or two from Scripture and ruminate on them or choose an aspect of God’s character and think about its significance. If you choose an exalted theme to meditate on, the results can't help but be positive.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8 ESV)

Ron Hughes
© June 2008