Biblical Meditation

2/3/13                     Michael                 32

“There’s more to life than talking about the Superbowl” I told a young businessman at Starbucks today, in answer to his question about why I was asking about his spiritual beliefs.  He had to agree, and went on to tell me about his relatively recent beliefs in Buddhism.  Michael views the meditation involved in Buddhism as his way to achieve inner peace in life despite the contradictions of this world and the pressures of running his own business, but he hadn’t thought much about the implications of Buddhism on the life to come.  Through a long conversation, I had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with Michael, and he responded with great interest.  But what about attaining inner peace in this life?  Does Christianity have anything to say to someone like Michael about that, or is he forced to turn to something like Buddhist meditation for peace of mind and focus in life?  Is Christianity only about the life to come, or does it also speak to the here and now?  Of course, there is much I could have said, but for Michael I focused on the fact that, as Christians, we too are called to meditate.  However, instead of trying to empty our minds of all thought – and allowing ourselves to be open to all manner of negative spiritual influence – we are called to meditate on Scripture.  “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Josh 1:8)   At first glance, without meditation, a businessman like Michael might read a passage like this and simply focus on the “prosperous and successful” part, but by meditating on God’s word, he can first learn to “be careful to do everything written in it”.   Biblical meditation puts God and His word first and fills us with Godly direction and counsel that guides us through all the contradictions and pressures of this world that, like Michael, we all find so difficult and confusing.  It can also help us keep worldly distractions - like the Super Bowl – in their proper perspective!