I was thinking about...

meditation. Not the cross-your-legs-and-hum kind of meditation but rather the kind like Mary (Jesus Mother) “pondered…in her heart meditation. You may have said I can’t do that. Well consider this. Rich Warren author of Purpose Driven Life, Purpose Driven Church and Pastor of saddleback Church writes, “if you can worry then you can meditate.” Some of us CAN worry can’t we? You may be one of the chosen who has a GIFT in worrying. It is truly special. He concludes that to worry is to meditate on the problem. I must agree. Usually all I am thinking about is the problem and its negative outcomes. Honestly, if I had a solution I would have already done something about it. But It is easier to worry and be miserable than to work for a solution. It is more fun to involve more people in your misery because misery loves company so “they” say. One of my aspirations is to be a “they” someday. Pastor Rick then moves us to say that meditation is to “worry” on the solution. The kind of meditation that I speak of here is the pondering, thinking, considering of the Word of God Jesus kind.
Jesus is the solution for all of our worries. He is the one who everything was made by, for and through, The one who holds all things together and maintains balance. He is the solution. In a very practical book titled Life Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes meditation in its core component terms. It is to consider the word of God and his implications not for the whole world but for my world in whole. It is to consider maybe one word of Scripture and not the entirety of the book or a passage or even a sentence so that it may speak to me at the very heart of my life that day, week or month. For the teacher, preacher Bible study leader meditation is not to teach the text, to preach the text but to experience the text as the word of the living God. Meditation is in today’s terms “hang out time” with Jesus. Thursday that struck me as I was meditating.
As I was still and had for the most part prayed through or abandoned the thoughts of the coming day, past few days and life concerns, it occurred to me (really it was revealed to me by the Spirit) what a bless it is that the one who holds all together stronger than gravity, electromagnetism, stronger than any force of nature, the one who created nature wants me to hang out with HIM. Instead of what is meditation the question becomes who am I that the Lord of All wants me to hang out? Who am I at all?
I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. It is amazing that meditating on the most basic of ideas would lead to the greatest moments of gratitude. On behalf of the Crossroads family I wish you and happy Thanksgiving filled with joy and gratitude for the Word of the Living God who loves us and “hangs with us.”