Way
Read Psalm 1.
Last summer, Cathy and I took a day and went to a local park that had some hiking trails. We'd never been there before, but the property wasn't too large, so I passed up the opportunity to study the map. "We'll just follow the signs," I said, proudly. "We surely can't get lost." Did I hear God chuckle at that moment? There were no signs along the path. Experienced hikers knew which turns to take and which branches to follow; we less experienced hikers (with that particular park) had no clue. We just kept following the trail we were on...until it let us out in the midst of a subdivision. I'm pretty sure that wasn't where we were supposed to end up! Thankfully, the subdivision wasn't too far from the park (and our car), so we trudged back, and at least I was wishing we had taken a map at the beginning of our hike.
At the very beginning of the psalms is a word about following a path, making sure we know the way—only the psalmist isn't talking about taking a hike in the woods. He's talking about finding our spiritual path, our route to God. "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers" (Psalm 1:1). Blessed is the one who realizes there are two ways to take, a choice to be made. Many today, even in the church, don't seem to see a difference in the two ways. Rather than seeking out God's way, we ask God instead to bless our way. And we expect him to do so! But the psalmist will have none of that. There are two ways, not one, and the only way to the blessed life is to follow God's way and not our own.
So how do we do that? What helps us discern the difference between the two ways? It's a discipline, a regular discipline, that helps us. The psalmist describes it this way: "Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night" (Psalm 1:2). The blessed person "takes delight in" God's word and "meditates" on it all the time. The blessed person finds enjoyment in reading Scripture, in allowing the words that point to the Word to get down deep inside of him or her. The blessed person, the one who walks on God's path, is the one who knows the Scripture so deeply that its instruction, its guidance, its direction become second (or first) nature. This is what it means to follow God's way.
I think of a book I have on my shelf (one which is now unfortunately out of print) called The Wesley Hymns. In this book, scholar John Lawson takes the lines of many of Charles Wesley's hymns (many of which are unknown to us today) and matches them with the Scripture verses they reflect. The end result: you can't read (or sing) the hymns without realizing how steeped in Scripture Charles Wesley was (and John as well). The Scriptures just flowed out of him into his music. That's what it means to me to have the Scripture deep down inside me: it becomes part of who I am so much that it flows out of me without even me thinking about it. I want to walk in God's way, but that doesn't happen automatically. To do so I have to love the Scriptures and meditate on them constantly.
How about you? Does Scripture reside deep down inside of you? What are you meditating on right now?
Last summer, Cathy and I took a day and went to a local park that had some hiking trails. We'd never been there before, but the property wasn't too large, so I passed up the opportunity to study the map. "We'll just follow the signs," I said, proudly. "We surely can't get lost." Did I hear God chuckle at that moment? There were no signs along the path. Experienced hikers knew which turns to take and which branches to follow; we less experienced hikers (with that particular park) had no clue. We just kept following the trail we were on...until it let us out in the midst of a subdivision. I'm pretty sure that wasn't where we were supposed to end up! Thankfully, the subdivision wasn't too far from the park (and our car), so we trudged back, and at least I was wishing we had taken a map at the beginning of our hike.
At the very beginning of the psalms is a word about following a path, making sure we know the way—only the psalmist isn't talking about taking a hike in the woods. He's talking about finding our spiritual path, our route to God. "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers" (Psalm 1:1). Blessed is the one who realizes there are two ways to take, a choice to be made. Many today, even in the church, don't seem to see a difference in the two ways. Rather than seeking out God's way, we ask God instead to bless our way. And we expect him to do so! But the psalmist will have none of that. There are two ways, not one, and the only way to the blessed life is to follow God's way and not our own.
So how do we do that? What helps us discern the difference between the two ways? It's a discipline, a regular discipline, that helps us. The psalmist describes it this way: "Blessed is the one...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night" (Psalm 1:2). The blessed person "takes delight in" God's word and "meditates" on it all the time. The blessed person finds enjoyment in reading Scripture, in allowing the words that point to the Word to get down deep inside of him or her. The blessed person, the one who walks on God's path, is the one who knows the Scripture so deeply that its instruction, its guidance, its direction become second (or first) nature. This is what it means to follow God's way.
I think of a book I have on my shelf (one which is now unfortunately out of print) called The Wesley Hymns. In this book, scholar John Lawson takes the lines of many of Charles Wesley's hymns (many of which are unknown to us today) and matches them with the Scripture verses they reflect. The end result: you can't read (or sing) the hymns without realizing how steeped in Scripture Charles Wesley was (and John as well). The Scriptures just flowed out of him into his music. That's what it means to me to have the Scripture deep down inside me: it becomes part of who I am so much that it flows out of me without even me thinking about it. I want to walk in God's way, but that doesn't happen automatically. To do so I have to love the Scriptures and meditate on them constantly.
How about you? Does Scripture reside deep down inside of you? What are you meditating on right now?
The best Map in the world - the Bible! I'm meditating on God's grace.
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