In Love with the Bible

Learning to love God's Word

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meditation

A Look at John 6:1-14

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I have not usually found it helpful to meditate on scripture by focusing on a character in a Biblical account—but one day I did. So this post illustrates meditating on scripture by placing yourself in the story, via a character in the passage. I’m going to start by telling you how I came to meditate on this passage.

At a time when I was dealing with a particular habitual sin—one in my thought life—I was getting ready to take a walk and realized I wanted to choose that sin. As a walk does not require much attention, I knew my mind would need something to focus on if I were to avoid sin. I grabbed my Bible and just asked God to give me a passage that I could think about while walking. I opened up to the feeding of the 5,000—and was unhappy with that selection. I didn’t think there was much food for thought there and I knew I needed something that would capture my attention. I decided, in a grumpy way, that I could at least make a beginning. I got about as far as saying something like, “Thank you, Lord, that when we give you our little bit, you make it sufficient for the need,” when I was interrupted by the thought that I should consider the possibility that the biggest miracle in the story was not the multiplication of the loaves and fish, but the boy giving Jesus his lunch. That thought surprised me, but I pondered it. I realized it’s easy to imagine why a boy would not want to give his lunch to Jesus to feed 5,000 others (the foremost being, it seems like a good way to go hungry.) I thought of some other reasons, too. The thing that struck me the most is that every one of those reasons applied to why I was having problems with a sinful thought pattern. I ended up thinking about this for a good week. (Not bad for a passage with “no food for thought.”) In the end, I found myself thinking particularly about how the boy must have felt when the leftovers were picked up; the “garbage” was significantly bigger than the original lunch. I can imagine the boy saying, in awe, “You did that with my lunch?” I think God invites me to believe it’s possible that I might say to him when my life is over, “You did that with my life?”

I want to point out that through meditating on this passage I ended up with a good understanding of why I had a particular habitual sin. Dealing with those issues did not come from meditating on this passage. It came from meditating on scriptures that spoke to the root issues of my sin: my unbelief—doubting God’s sufficiency. Meditation on one passage can often lead us to meditating on other passages.

I believe one could also gain good insight by looking at this passage from the viewpoint of the disciples. Jesus tells them to have the people sit down. Until then there may not have been any expectation on the part of the crowd that Jesus is going to provide food—the disciples certainly did not have any such expectation. To have the crowds sit is to imply that food is coming and the disciples know full well that there is not enough food. Even when Jesus began to divide the food, the disciples had no way of knowing it would be enough for such a crowd. I wonder if any of the disciples were thinking, “Jesus, how could you ask me to do this?” It’s easy to be confident of the outcome when you know the end of the story, but what if I’m the one being asked to do what I know is not possible? How do I respond when the outcome is unknown? Do I want to put the biggest guys in the front to make sure they get something? Do I want to put them in the back in hopes I’ll be far away from them when the food runs out? Or do I trust Jesus to fully supply what is needed (with leftovers)?

A Look at Romans 12:2

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There are three word pictures in Romans 12:2 that are very helpful to me when I ponder the passage. In my experience, focusing on them creates a source for fruitful meditation. This is how the verse reads in the New American Standard Bible: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” I’d like to focus on the words conformed, transformed, and renewing.

The word conformed means to fashion in the same way—being made from the same mold, cut from the same pattern. I’m not a great seamstress, but I have done enough sewing to know that you can get a wide variety of looks from the same pattern by changing fabrics and using different finishing touches. Within all that variety there will, however, continue to be a certain sameness because the pattern is unchanged. In spite of the great variety of sizes, shapes, complexions, and personalities that people come in, being shaped by the world will leave a certain sameness to us—one that is not pleasing to God. It is worth asking ourselves some questions. Do I recognize where I’m cut from the same pattern as the world? Do I see ways God has made alterations to the pattern? Am I willing to let God (metaphorically) rip out some seams in order to make further alterations?

The word transformed used in this verse is the same word that is translated as transfiguration when it talks about Jesus’ skin and clothing becoming radiant. It is a word that expresses a real change. The Greek word looks like this: metamorphoo. When I saw it, my first thought was “metamorphosis,” and they are indeed related words. I found it worth thinking about the level of change that happens when a caterpillar becomes a moth or a butterfly. It’s not a matter of the caterpillar growing wings, but it really becomes something new—the old body is dissolved and a new body is restructured. Something is lost, but something is gained. Would the caterpillar be willing to form a cocoon/chrysalis if it knew what would happen while it was inside one? Am I willing for God to take me apart and put me back together in a new way? Am I willing to go through the loss of being a caterpillar in order to become a butterfly? (Will I believe a butterfly is on the other side of the process?)

Renewing our minds means renovating our minds. The architect with his plans and the contractor with his skills enter into renovating a home without any concern for the fact that some walls may come down, new boards may be nailed in, or new windows may be cut out while old ones are boarded over. But when it comes to renewing our minds, we are neither the architect nor the contractor. We are the house. We may not see or understand the architect’s plans. We may not understand the reasons the contractor removes some things and adds others. Maybe we don’t like some of the changes or the messiness of the work. It helps to have confidence that the final product will be worth it (i.e. trust the skills of the architect and the contractor). Of course all analogies have their limits. If a house is being renovated, it does not actively participate in the work being done. But we do. God cannot renew my mind with his word if I don’t spend time in his word. It is worthwhile to ask God where he wants to renovate and what scriptures he might want me to meditate on to help it happen. Truth is the building material for mind renewal.

We are told the transformation that comes from a renewed mind enables us to “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Let’s take a quick look at some of these words, too.

  • Prove: to test, discern, to approve (it is a word that connotes checking to see if something is worthy of being received or not)
  • Good: benevolent, profitable, useful
  • Acceptable: fully agreeable, well-pleasing
  • Perfect: complete, adult (i.e. full grown), having reached the goal

I believe that those areas of my life that have been transformed by God’s word demonstrate that God’s word is worthy of being received—life lived God’s way is useful, well-pleasing, and accomplishes God’s goals.