the spiritual discipline of study
TRANSCRIPT
Leaven Leaven
Volume 2 Issue 4 Spiritual Discipline Article 10
1-1-1994
The Spiritual Discipline of Study The Spiritual Discipline of Study
Brad Dudley [email protected]
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Inadequacy, pride: such are the bipolar extremesof the "spiritual disciplines." Isn't that the warningJesus gives in his summit sermon when discussingthe disciplines offasting, prayer, and giving? CharlesSwindoll echoes the warning of Jesus, "These disci-plines were never meant to be displays ofthe flesh."!When study becomes an end unto itself or a means ofdrawing attention unto oneself, certainly we jointhose to whomJesus said, "they have already receivedtheir reward."
Before we begin mining the rich ore of study as aspiritual discipline, allow me to narrow the field ofthis otherwise ambiguous term. We are not talkingabout product study, though a product may comefrom this study. Product is not the goal. We are nottalking about the study of information storing orsharing, though certainly this too would be a by-product. We are not talking about academic study;and Bible reading is not the subject of the spiritualdiscipline of study, though Bible reading may occur.
What we are talking about is the study thatpermeates life. It is what A. W. Tozer would call"Followinghard after God." Though, for many, studymay be a discipline ofhabit; the study we speak of ismore a discipline of heart. It is the seed of desireexpressed by the Psalmist, "As the deer pants forstreams water, so my soul pants for you 0 God. Mysoul thirsts for God,for the living God. When can I gomeet with God?'? It is the instruction of Paul,
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''Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever isright, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,whateveris admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."? It is the imperative call,"Be still and know that I am God.?'
She had gray hair; to my knowledge it was hernatural color.Youcould trace weather-worn roads inher wrinkled skin. She was no theologian, not by thestandards that theologians set for their profession.Her education was more simple than complex, butshe had studied more than the counsel of scholars.Her name was Anna, and she lived in the temple.Her life's pursuit was to know the God who hadrevealed himself. Is it any wonder she recognized thevoiceofGodin a cry ofan eight-day-old infant? At theheart of the discipline of study it is not knowledgethat is found, rather it is knowing. It is not structuredby theoretical theology, but is supported by a faithstrengthened by "experience theology." As Tozerstates it, "The man who has been taught by the HolySpirit will be a seer rather than a scholar. Thedifference is that the scholar sees and the seer seesthrough; and that is a mighty difference indeed;"
The Spiritual Discipline of Study: ItsEnvironment
More than anything else, it is my limited un-derstanding of what study is that actually keeps mefrom study. For instance, too often study utilizes the
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mind as a filing system or a factory with its cogsturning in exhaustion and sometimes in futility.That was what initially troubled me with this assign-ment. There was a need Vs. futility tug-of-war in mymind. I recognized and applauded the need for studyas a spiritual discipline, but I feared the futility of
A spiritual disci-pline is different.
It knows no deadlines,seeks no acknowledg-ment, receives nograde.
writing about study, the stand-alone discipline ofstudy. While that thought troubled me, it alsoliberated me to explore the spiritual discipline ofstudy. The liberation came from the modifier thatmakes it important: spiritual. As a "success disci-pline" or a "self-righteous discipline," study has beenthe ruin of many self-made man and woman. As a"product discipline" or an "education discipline," studyhas fueled the fire ofburn-out. However, a spiritualdiscipline is different. It knows no deadlines, seeksno acknowledgment, receives no grade. It engagesthe mind but draws on the inexhaustible power oftheeternal spirit. It reshapes the physical but touchesboth the temporal and the eternal spirit. The envi-ronment of spiritual study, therefore, is comprised oftwo worlds: the temporal and the eternal. Study'sultimate production is the spirit remaking the willand transforming the mind. It is realized in a lifetimein pursuit of God.
To illustrate the environment of study, realizedin a lifetime pursuit ofGod, an exploration ofPsalms119 is useful. The psalmist, utilizing an enormousacrostic, models the spiritual discipline ofstudy. Thewriter is consumed with the ways of Gocl,the laws ofGod, the word of God, seeking God, being sought byGod, following God, being taught by God, longing forGod, meditating on God, finding refuge in God...ThePsalmist has willed his way to be God's way. His willhas acted on his mind to replace evil thoughts withthe divine thoughts of God.
It is important to understand that the pur-suit of God is in itself a product of God. Jesus says"No one can come to me unless the Father who sentme draws him.:" As Tozer states, "The impulse topursue God originates with God, but the outworkingof that impulse is our following hard after him; andall the time we are pursuing him we are already in hishand."? This seeking and pursuing must go beyondfinding that there is a God or even realizing his gracein salvation. We must, according to Tozer, crave aknowledge of God which goes beyond an initial andrudimentary understanding. Accordingly, he states,
How tragic that we in this dark day havehad our seeking done for us by our teach-ers. Everything is made to center uponthe initial act of ,accepting Christ' and weare not expected thereafter to crave anyfurther revelation ofGod to our souls. Wehave been snared in the coils ofa spuriouslogicwhich insists that if we found him weneed no more seek Him."
Instead we must followwith the courage ofMoseswhose relationship with God drew him so close thathe begged for more, "Show me your glory!"
The Spiritual Discipline of Study: ItsElements
Necessity has taught us the tools ofacademic andproduct study: language, research methods, orga-nizational skills, communication forms, and dead-line planning. Though all of these are invaluable,none of them are the major players in the spiritualdiscipline ofstudy. The keys ofthe spiritual disciplineare not very flashy. They are: wonder, awe, medi-tation, praise, relationship.... These elements, likethe dust of the earth, are fertile soil of spiritualgrowth, the building blocks of life, vast and tirelessresources. Though they are common, they producewhat is uncommon.
The spiritual discipline ofstudy recently revealeditself in an unexpected way. Had I not been writingthis article, I would certainly have missed it. I sataround a large table with a dozen or so preachers.One individual had been selected to share a fewthoughts with the group. He brought a handout thatcontained the seed thoughts to a series offive sermons.They were five representatives ofhis "product study."It was his off-handed comment that caught my ear. "Ihad "this idea one day in the shower." Everyonelaughed. A colleague leaned over and whispered tome, "I have my best ideas in the shower." On morethan one occasion that too has been my experienceand perhaps yours as well. Let me assure you my
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shower is not designed for study. There is no pen andpaper, no computer, no books, no tapes; there is onlysoap and water. Rarely doI goto the shower in searchof an idea. Yet what is spiritual yields a fruit that ispresentable from a moment of quietness. It is in theembryonic warmth of the shower that the mind isoften stirred and the eyes opened as the spirit givesbirth to realization and truth.
Perhaps, it is that unplanned moment that bestdescribes the true spiritual discipline of study. It isthe heart inclined toward God saying, "May thewords ofmy mouth and the meditation ofmy heart bepleasing in your sight, 0 Lord, my Rock and myRedeerner.:" It is found in a life-style and expressedby the psalmist in a moment that represents a focuson God. "Teach me, 0 Lord, to followyour decrees;then I will keep them to the end. Give me under-standing, and I will keep your law and obeyit with allmy heart. Direct me in the path ofyour commands forthere I find delight. Turn my heart toward yourstatues and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyesfrom worthless things; renew my life according toyour word.'?"
We need more shower moments, more times thatfocus on the Godwith whom we share a relationship.It is again Tozer that reminds us, "The modernscientist has lost God amid the wonders ofhis world;we Christians are in real danger of losing God amidthe wonders of his Word. We have almost forgottenthat God is a person ...»n We need more time spentstudying the bonds ofour relationship with God,andthis not from a factual basis but fromthe couchofself-examination and the quiet of meditation.
The spiritual discipline of study is a hill-sideexperience. It is David in awe of God as he watchessheep. It is spontaneous song in a a pasture-land. Itmoves from quietness to shouts, form stillness toleaps, from blindness to sight. Writing down thatexpression of praise to share with other followers issimply a decision - an option - driven by a desire fora psalm or a contemporary song ofpraise, which areby-products ofspiritual study. Such expressions arecomposed in the richness of the basic elements.
The spiritual discipline of study does not requirethat you get up earlier or go to bed later. There areno demands to seek more education or memorizemore Bible. A professor will never test over thematerial, and you can not enroll in a course of studythat leads to a degree. Illumination, not instruction,is the course that is sought. Tozer is helpful onceagain as he illustrates the futility of instructionwithout illumination:
It is altogether possible to be instructed inthe rudiments of faith and still have no
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real understanding of the whole thing,and it is possible to goon to become expertin Bible doctrines and not have spiritualillumination ...Most of us are acquaintedwith churches that teach Bible to theirchildren from the tenderest years ...andstill never produce in them a livingChristianity nor a virile godliness. Theirmembers show no evidence of havingpassed from death unto life...Their reli-gious lives are correct and reasonablymoral, but wholly mechanical and alto-gether lacking radiance. They wear theirfaith as persons in mourning once woreblack arm bands to show their love andrespect for the departed. Such personscannot be dismissed as hypocrites. Manyof them are pathetically serious about itall. They are simply blind."
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for mypath, "13 acknowledges the heart of the seeker. Withthe psalmist we affirm, "Ifyour law had not been my
What is spiritualyields a fruit
that is presentablefrom a moment of qui-etness.
delight, I would have perished in my affiiction. I willnever forgot your precepts for by them you haverenewed my life."!' Certainly we must emphasizeagain that we are talking about more than words,more than ink and paper. Jesus Christ is himselfthecommunication (Word) of God. He is the way, thetruth, and the life. The one that opens blinded eyesstill is the light of the world.
Resource Page: Cultivating a Hearlnot a Habit
It is our common experience that relationshipsare ever in a state of flux: some are cyclical otherlineal; some are loving while others are stormy; some
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are growing, others declining. It is our commonconviction that any relationship which flourisheswill be a relationship in which we invest. It isimportant in this case to understand the investmentrequired is not time. Time is a valued currency in arelationship, but there is a precursor to time. Timewill comenaturally with an investment ofour beings(our hearts).
Itis possible to have a time-invested relationshipwith God. I call it a "habitual relationship." It is likethe family that eats dinner together every evening.This in itself is an accomplishment, an accomplish-ment oftime and habit, but it tells us very little oftherelationship. Habitual relationships soon become aburden of going through the motions. They are likethe couple that has grown tired of the same fiverecipes and dreads mealtime. Or are they like thecouple whose sexual relationship has lost its fire andhas become little more than a habit of co-habitation.Tragedy is the end product ofhabitual relationships.They are robotic in nature as they make lifelessgestures and watch for approval from emotionlessfaces.
In more than one way we can have a habitualrelationship with God. Too obvious is the church-goer that punches an attendance card; less obvious isthe neglected and forgotten discipline which modi-fies our behavior out ofthe reservoir ofthe spirit. Allrelationships, even a relationship with God,must beguarded against what is only habitual. Habit in theplace of the heart will lead first to boredom, then
yawning, yawning to dozing, dozing to coma. Theouter shell ofthe habit may remain, but the inner lifeofthe heart will have ceased. Time is meant to enrichrelationships. Overperiods ofminutes, days, months,and years closer bonds are drawn from shared ex-periences and deepened trust. Some of my earliestmemories involve my mother and father teaching meto know God. Through the years, I continue todiscover more of him than I had previously known.Some ofthe discoveryhas comebecause ofmy educa-tion, but most has come in the shower or on thehillside.
Healthy, growing relationships have captivatedthe heart. They are like two lovers who think ofeachother throughout the day at work. Though manyother thoughts and actions fill the day, one thing isconstant- their love. Though they each have habits,very little of who they are relationally is habitual.Times shared together are filled with discovery, self-disclosure and the simple joy ofbeing together (evenwith no agenda). When was the last time you justenjoyed being with God when there was no agenda?
My heading promised a resource. Just as theelements of the spiritual discipline of study aredifferent from the tools ofother kinds of study, so arethe resources. Youwill not find a bibliography here.Instead, the resource for the spiritual discipline ofstudy is this moment you have in the presence ofGodand his call to your heart, "Be still and know that I amGod."
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