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By Rob Des Cotes
 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit. Hebrews 4:12
The desert hermit, Carlo Carretto, refers to the Bible as a book that marries heaven and earth. In his Joyful Exiles, James Houston similarly says, "The Holy Scriptures constitute the ladder of communication between earth and heaven on which there constantly ascend and descend the heavenly messengers sent out to help lift up ourhearts and minds to God in spiritual communion with Him."
It would seem that, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, the Word of God is a very active environment. But for most of us, our hearts are not always as open to the same expectations as our theology might be. We easily lose the connection between heaven and earth that Scripture promises us, and our enthusiasm for the Bible can wax and wane accordingly.
There is a particular way that people who begin to discover God through contemplative prayer experience this waning as the Lord changes their relationship to reading the Scriptures. At first, this reorientation can be quite disconcerting as we begin to notice a weariness, or even an aversion come over us with regards to Scripture reading. It is not uncommon, for instance, to hear someone in spiritual direction say, I used to read three chapters of the Bible faithfully each day, and now I don't even feel like opening it. What's happening to my faith?
As we grow in a more direct intimacy with God through contemplative prayer we should not be surprised that this will as well imply a new relationship to other aspects of our faith to worship, to the church, to our understanding of evangelism and mission, and to the way we approach Scripture reading. In light of the new reality of God's active presence that such prayer introduces us to, the Holy Spirit will likely call us to reexamine many other aspects of our faith as well.
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Correctives often need to be applied to years of self-directed spirituality and to all our well-meant efforts that might not have had their origins in the Spirit's promptings. The order gets turned around as we recognize, more and more, that God alone is the 'author and finisher of our faith.' As a necessary part of our maturing process, the Lord weans us from our self-directed ways, often by first taking away the satisfaction that we used to feel according to the presumptions of our old approach. He does so in order to lead us toward a more received relationship, one that is closer to truth than the perception that we, in any way, apprehend God through our own initiatives. This more profound integrity then brings a much deeper satisfaction to the soul, and to the Lord.
As it applies to Scripture, a contemplative re-orientation will invite us to a more Spirit-related form of reading one whose objective is not primarily understanding, but communion with God. This shift in purpose might require us to read more slowly, perhaps going over a passage or verse a few times rather than simply skimming over it with our mind. As we learn to feel our way through a passage, we will detect signs of God's presence within us that confirm His active presence in the Word.
Recognizing the living nature of God's Word represents a different form of knowledge that ultimately transforms the act of reading into yet one more place of intimate communion with our Lord. We will discover the same presence of God that we have come to know through prayer, now revealed afresh through the Spirit-accompanied reading of Scripture. And, like the double-edged sword that it promises to be, the living Word of God will penetrate us deeply, creating a clearer distinction between the initiatives of our own spirit, and those of the Lord's active presence in our soul.
Rob Des Cotes is a spiritual director and pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He teaches Contemplative Traditions at Trinity Western University, as well as courses on spirituality and the arts at Carey Theological College and Columbia Bible College. Rob also directs Imago Dei (www.imagodeicommunity.ca) a network of faith communities that encourages the practice of prayer and a transforming relationship with God. Rob is a regular contributor to canadianchristianity.com
To obtain 'Higher than I' go to: www.clementspublishing.com
October 16/2007
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