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Meditate—percolate (1)
‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.’ Colossians 3:16 NKJV
Meditating in Scripture is one of the great keys to spiritual growth. In the first psalm, David writes, ‘In His law he meditates day and night.’ (Psalm 1:2 NKJV) But the word meditation is not one that a text-and-Twitter generation relates to very well. We imagine sober-faced monks wearing hairshirts and chanting on bended knees as the sun rises every morning. As a result, we want to run in the opposite direction. We admire such people, think God has to call us to such a thing, and conclude that He certainly hasn’t called us to do it. Or we think meditation is a discipline that requires hours of uninterrupted time, and time is the one thing we don’t have in surplus. And the result? We live busy but spiritually barren lives.
Some of us think meditation is fine, but we believe there are other spiritual growth and character development areas we need to work on first. So, what’s the problem? We don’t understand what it means to meditate, or the rich benefits it will give us. A spoon of instant coffee is okay if you just want the basic taste of coffee. But if you want more—if you want to enjoy the flavours of the coffee in all their richness—you have to let it percolate. So, we could paraphrase the Scripture this way: ‘In His law, he percolates day and night.’
That is what Paul meant here: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.’ Today, enjoy the aroma, taste the flavour, and experience the strength.
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2022
‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.’ Colossians 3:16 NKJV
Meditating in Scripture is one of the great keys to spiritual growth. In the first psalm, David writes, ‘In His law he meditates day and night.’ (Psalm 1:2 NKJV) But the word meditation is not one that a text-and-Twitter generation relates to very well. We imagine sober-faced monks wearing hairshirts and chanting on bended knees as the sun rises every morning. As a result, we want to run in the opposite direction. We admire such people, think God has to call us to such a thing, and conclude that He certainly hasn’t called us to do it. Or we think meditation is a discipline that requires hours of uninterrupted time, and time is the one thing we don’t have in surplus. And the result? We live busy but spiritually barren lives.
Some of us think meditation is fine, but we believe there are other spiritual growth and character development areas we need to work on first. So, what’s the problem? We don’t understand what it means to meditate, or the rich benefits it will give us. A spoon of instant coffee is okay if you just want the basic taste of coffee. But if you want more—if you want to enjoy the flavours of the coffee in all their richness—you have to let it percolate. So, we could paraphrase the Scripture this way: ‘In His law, he percolates day and night.’
That is what Paul meant here: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.’ Today, enjoy the aroma, taste the flavour, and experience the strength.
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2022
