Ever had something you were thinking about so intently, you kinda lost track of real life?
Doesn’t necessarily have to be someone, like a juvenile crush. It could just be an idea you can’t get out of your head. Fr’instance, the last scene of last night’s TV program was so unexpected, so thought-provoking, that you find you’re thinking about it when you should be paying attention to other things… “Wait, did I just pour orange juice on my cereal?” You were, as they call it, “distracted.” Or “had your head in the clouds.” Or “daydreaming.” Something like that.
Well, that’s meditation. You’re thinking about that idea so intently, the things of earth become strangely dim in the light of it. Happens all the time. The trick, of course, is to put that intense focus upon the things of God, and not just favorite people or memories or media.
Some Christians claim it’s really easy. And if you’re bananas for Jesus, like new Christians are, like longtime Christians can be, of course it’s really easy. But not all of us are at that point in our lives. Some of us want to be that way about him; some of us want to be that way about him again. Some of us figure, “Well, I can focus on him with a little self-discipline,” and others, “I have certain techniques which get me there.”
But in my original example, you’ll notice focus comes a little too easily when it comes to certain topics of interest. So here’s the trick you wanna shoot for: Can you find anything about God which makes you fixate on him like a catchy song, or ponder him like a fond memory?
If so, that’s what you need to meditate on.
If not, start looking.
Not interesting? Not meditation material.
True, there’s certain things we ought to meditate on. But when we’re just getting started in meditation, best to start with things we want to meditate on, and work our way up. So start with that. What catches your interest?
When I was a teenager, music caught my interest. I’d listen to lyrics, then take them apart in analysis. Which still horrifies people: Most folks never pay attention to lyrics, and it greatly bothers them when I tell them, “Oh yeah, you’re talking about that song about the guy talking his girlfriend into an abortion,” or, “Yeah, that’s my favorite song about obsessive-compulsive courtship,” and they had no clue that’s what it’s about. (And now it’s my fault “the song’s ruined.” Hey, I didn’t write it.) Anywho, I’d turn that laser-like analysis onto popular Christian songs too, and take ’em apart in the very same way… and sometimes find the theological depth to these songs are often a millimeter deep. If that.
But y’know what? A lot of the people who wrote hymns intended for Christians to meditate on their songs. They wrote ’em so they could slip some theological education into people that way. That’s why some of ’em get mighty deep.
- And can it be that I should gain
- An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
- Died he for me, who caused his pain?
- For me, who him to death pursued?
- Amazing love! How can it be
- That thou, my God, should die for me?
—Charles Wesley, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?”
- An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Wesley’s a good example. This guy taught more people through his hymns than his brother John ever taught through his sermons.
So can you meditate on a hymn? Absolutely. It has to do with God, doesn’t it? Take a hymn. Take any Christian poetry. Pick it apart. Think on it. Analyze it. Play with the words. Double-check it against scripture; Wesley’s stuff holds up really well. Write your own tune for it. Ponder it till you just can’t ponder no more.
Or if hymns don’t do it for you, a Christian pop song. But be prepared for a lot of that millimeter-deep stuff I was talking about.
Yeah, this search for meditation material means you’re gonna have to do a lot of digging around. And you know what? That’s okay. Exposure to more Christian stuff is good. Helps you learn which of it is worth your time, and which of it is junk. ’Cause if you can’t meditate on it for long—or if you try, and exhaust the subject within seconds—it’s usually junk. Whether it’s Christian art, Christian books, Christian music, Christian whatever: If there’s nothing to ponder, continue to wander.