Study

  

In the book, "Pleasures Evermore", Sam Storms references a story in Greek mythology.  Ulysses was part of a rescue of Helen, the wife of Menelaus, the king of Greece.  In his travels Ulysses encountered many things including the Sirens being seductive and irresistible.  Being warned of the outward beauty and the inward treachery of the Sirens, Ulysses came up with a plan.  He put wax in the ears of his crew and ordered himself tied to the ships mast.  You see, the charming and compelling music they would encounter would only lead to their demise.  His reasoning behind tying himself to the mast was so that he could hear the alluring sounds but be unable to follow their plea.  Ulysses felt he did not succumb but Mr. Storms explains what he felt really happened on page 105 of his book.

"His 'no' was not the fruit of a spontaneous revulsion but the product of an external shackle."

He goes on to explain that we are not that much different. We long for sins pleasures but shackle ourselves "by laws, rules, taboos and prohibitions of our religious environment.  Our obedience is not the glad product of a transformed nature but a reluctant conformity born of fear and shame."

Once again he references mythology to drive his point.  Another person, Jason, traveled the path by the Sirens but had a different solution.  Jason brought his musician, Orpheus, to combat the seductive melody's of the wicked Sirens.  No wax or ropes were needed.  Orpheus played his most wonderful music.  Jason and his men did not succumb because they were captivated by the beautiful melody's played by Orpheus.

Mr. Storms sums it up like this:  "I want to love the things that God loves and hate what he hates, not simply because that is what I'm suppose to do but because that is what I long to do."

This all brings me to my notion of study.  How do I study?  Sometimes I think study is the gaining of knowledge.  But what is knowledge if it isn't useful or even worse what if it's incorrect?  Is incorrect knowledge really knowledge?  Let me set this up.  Now, I am coming from the assumption that we all agree Jesus has the kind of knowledge we all desire.  We see in the Old Testament God's knowledge had much focus in the law.  In the New Testament God's knowledge seemed to add aspects of attitude coming from the sacrifice he provided in his Son.  A possible example of this added attitude would be the story of the religious leaders and the adulterous woman.  The Old Testament law gave death by stoning.  The New Testament focuses on the attitude of both the religious leaders and the woman.  We see, in Luke 11:32, the shenanigans being played by these religious leaders and how they missed out on God's heart.  Do I need to couple the law of God along with the heart of God to produce this true knowledge?  If I have the heart without the precedent, am I missing out?  Likewise, if I have the precedent without the heart, am I missing out on this knowledge I am looking for?  It seems as if that is what Sam Storms is trying to get us to understand...."not because that is what I'm suppose to do but because that is what I long to do."

Back to the question.  How do I study?  Do I study God's word to gain the heart of God?  Or, do I study the Bible to grant myself permission?  Do I study the laws of God to hold myself up and prove myself righteous?  Or, do I study God's law to be more like the God I serve?  It seems as if these laws were established to cleanse rebellious hearts and alleviate the spreading of things God knew were toxic.  In the case of the religious leaders their "knowledge"  had come full circle and the toxicity had become their law.  Their knowledge without the heart of God had become stupidity.  I have great potential to rationalize, twist and coagulate the gospel into feeding my ideals.  It all comes back to my heart.  Do I want the heart of God or the heart of Jim? Study and knowledge seem like noble ideals.  But even in this we must be careful....the approval of God is what matters.

How do I amass all this information God gives me in his word?  It is truth, but how do I make it real?  Do I want my improvement or God's infiltration?

Is this world not full of these things we call knowledge and pleasures?  Do I okay things which are not okay because I have strapped myself to the mast of perceptive non-participation?  I must unhitch myself from the moorings and study the truth God has set before me, both his stipulations and forgiveness.  I must wrap myself up in the heart of God.  With Christ serenading me I am free to follow..."not because that is what  I'm suppose to do but  because that is what I long to do."