The third discipline to train in, Study, was one I was really looking forward to. From reading an overview of the nature of the discipline, there were two key aspects I focused on during the month…
1 – Increase my reading time in general.
Study is of course a much larger discipline that reading, and many who read never study, but reading is an important element in study and should not be lost. (R Foster).
I have a pile of books waiting to be read, and the aim was to use free time I had to read, rather than do other things. I have less free time now than I have ever had, and so prioritizing good, awake time to read became quite a practical issue. I was simply too tired to read in the evening, so it meant rearranging daytime activities, making use of nap-times and seizing the moment during weekends when I had help with childcare.
I have been slowly plowing through a book called ‘Knowing Christ Today‘ by Dallas Willard, which looks at the role of knowledge in our faith. It is a challenging read, but an important one, and has been good to stretch my brain to follow his thread.
2 – To study the book of the Bible which I would naturally be least drawn to, and least expect to learn/ be shaped from…
It soon becomes obvious that study demands humility. Study simply cannot happen until we are willing to be subject to the subject matter. (R Foster).
…for me, that meant the Song of Songs. I have always been niggled by the way it causes such strong reactions from people who read it – some who are certain that it is all about Jesus and the church, and some who are certain it is all about human relationships. I personally have always felt it reflected human relationships and have been unable to accommodate using language or imagery from the Song of Songs in my own prayer life and language with God – in all honesty, it makes me cringe to do so. So, in an effort to humble myself before the text, I bought a few commentaries arguing for both sides, and read through them, willing to be persuaded either way.
I really enjoyed my study of the Song of Songs – it was an interesting book to study, and I feel I have a much better understanding now of how and why people claim both interpretations. I personally still think it is a book about human relationships, but the study has helped me to genuinely understand a different point of view (less cringing for me in the future).
One point of interest for me was how much of the song dealt with the role of physical appearance in relationships. I have found in conversations with several Christians over the last few years, a nervousness around – even an avoidance of – embracing feelings of physical attraction, and feeling permission to make the best of the physical appearance we have, when it comes to romantic relationships. It was a relief and an encouragement to find so much celebration of the physical appearance of another, and an endorsement of the role it can play in a relationship. Bodies and physical attraction are not sinful, shameful or wrong – they can be another canvas on which to paint an expression of who we really are and how we really feel.
Note that the central purpose (of studying Scripture) is not doctrinal purity (though that is no doubt involved) but inner transformation. We come to the Scripture to be changed, not to amass information. (R Foster).
I have found the discipline of study the most challenging so far in terms of using it as a means of growing more connected to God. Letting the subject of my study ‘study’ me, was also a challenge – to not let the discipline be purely cerebral, but to let it affect the way I live. The challenge in this discipline for me is learning to study in a way that turns me more towards God, and perhaps allow the extent of the impact on me to dictate the pace of the studying. Has study really been effective if I come away with little personal change?
Image: Sallie Draper
Commentaires