There are in our day two problems that I have seen in the area of Christian “meditation.” One is that Christians are less and less inclined to take time away from the business of life for the purpose of meditating on the Scriptures. We seek refreshment regularly by taking vacations or getting away from it all, by which we mean, going on a hike or taking a trip or seeing the sights or watching a game or some sort. Not necessarily criticizing this, but when do we get away from it all so that we might meditate on the Word of God? When are we alone with God, without our family, without the typical noise of life? Jesus on occasion spent all night with His Father. Just the two of them! When is the last time I spent an hour with my God? Or a half hour? Or 15 minutes? Just the two of us!
The other problem has to do with the content of Christian meditation. Some have rightfully raised the question of what we set our minds and hearts on when we spend quiet time with the unseen God. Some are concerned about the possibility of a mind-less approach to meditation where we seek to empty our minds with no plan as to what we will then place in our empty minds. It is worth thinking about, not only because of the potential dangers with such an approach, but also because the Bible itself has much to say in answer to the question. It rarely speaks of meditation without stating the content of that meditation. We do not want to say much here about this now but only wish to raise the question in anticipation of considering how the Scriptures answer the question. On what do we meditate?
Without meaning to be to simple, let us begin with some simple statement about …
·
The meaning of meditation. Let us consider Biblical terms, then an
illustration of meditation, a dictionary definition, and finally our concluding
thoughts on what it means to meditate.
1. The term in Josh 1:8; Psalm 1:2: to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate,
devise, plot, speak. to meditate, devise, muse, imagine.
2. The term in Psa. 119:15,23,etc: 1 to put forth,
mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing, study, ponder. to
meditate, consider, put forth thoughts.
3. The term in Rom. 6:11:
1 to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over; 2 to consider, take into account, weigh,
meditate on. 3b to suppose, deem, judge. 3c to determine, purpose, decide. Additional
Information: This word deals with reality. If I "logizomai" or reckon
that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise I am deceiving
myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions.
Ø In the Navigators little booklet on meditation, we
read: “Meditation is chewing. It is like the graphic picture of a cow
and her process of mastication. Bringing up previously digested food for
renewed grinding and its preparation for assimilation. Meditation is pondering
various thoughts by mulling them over in the mind and heart. It is the
processing of mental food. We might call it ‘thought digestion.’ ‘Chewing’upon a thought deliberately and
thoroughly, thus providing a vital link between theory and action. What metabolism
is to the physical body of a cow, meditation is to your mental and spiritual
life.”
Ø
meditation 1. Quiet time spent in contemplating the Word of God and in fumigating
the mind of the toxic thoughts and ideas that infiltrate it every day. 2.
Private devotion or spiritual exercise focused on a religious theme. 3. Spoken
or written contemplative discourse delving into spiritual things.
We believe there must be time, of necessity quiet time, for Christians to reflect on Biblical truth. While meditation must be factually correct (i.e. we must have good theology or good understanding of a particular passage of Scripture) that is not the essence of meditation. Meditation takes truth from Scripture and seeks to allow God to direct us in the application of that truth. It is a necessary discipline tying together the ancient words of Scripture to my present-day life. More on this in days to come.
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