A Forgotten Joy: Exercise of the Spiritual Disciplines--Study & Meditation

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Interesting how in the church we paint the picture, even it is indirectly, that the Christian life is so easy...That if we do only "a, b, and c," we'll have a dynamic and healthy relationship with the Creator. We seem to have communicated that all we must do to connect with God is read the Bible (there is a difference between study and read) and pray. Could this be true? Is this relationship really that simple? Another question: Can any of my friendships be deepened if we merely communicated via email and phone?

This God we seek to relate with is multi-dimensional and multi-faceted, hence He seeks to relate with us on a plurality of levels. He longs for us to enter into community with Him that cannot be explained by any number of "spiritual disciplines" or any amount of pages in a book. No, it can only be discovered by diving into the proverbial rabbit hole to see how far it will go--as far as we'll follow it is the answer.

That being said, the Holy Scriptures are a vital element in discovering the character, personality, thoughts, and altogether person of God. John 1:1 illustrates that the Word is God--that the true Word is Jesus Himself. What if when David wrote in Psalm 1:2 that he, "meditates on the law day and night," he really meant that he meditated on and spent time with the very person of God??? What I'm saying is as we study and meditate on the ancient Scriptures we are not just learning ABOUT God, but learning God Himself...And many times, the greater our passion to know Him grows, the more He peels back the layers of His personality and invites us deeper--deeper into the mystery of who He is. Sometimes, we find understanding in those intimate places with God (1 John 5:20), and other times we find that some things are too complex and mysterious for us to comprehend. But just like with a close friend, despite our lack of understanding we are thrilled and content with the fact that God called us to come deeper into Himself (Psalm 42:7).

What a thrill to journey into the vastness and intimacy of a passionate relationship with God!