The Song of the Spirit

Last night I went to a Sleeping at Last concert at Taylor University with a bunch of friends, which was fantastic. Afterward, when asked how she enjoyed the concert, one of my friends commented that she had a difficult time enjoying concerts because she wasn't musically inclined, so she couldn't pick out harmonies or listen for chords and things along that line. I responded to her that those things are not what enjoying concerts is about. For me, music is something that is great to understand and be able to play and recognize what others are playing, but the real beauty of music is when you can just sit and soak it in, and let it speak to your soul. That's why music is so powerful, because it can have an emotive effect and can speak to us on a level that words or ideas cannot.

Something else occurred to me shortly after that. That is, sometimes we treat our biblical interpretation in the same way. We try to interpret what the Spirit is saying to us by looking at the historical context, the author's original intent, the original language, and a plethora of exegetical methods. I think that sometimes in all our digging around and trying to build our interpretation from the ground up, we can miss the point of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through the Word. Not that those things aren't good or helpful--I think they are absolutely necessary for good interpretation. But we are fooling ourselves if we think that this methodical exegesis is sufficient in itself.

The beauty of Scripture is not only that we can know the historical context and the author's intent, but rather that through it, we can allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us in our context now, in our situation. Like music, the Spirit can speak to us on a level that words and facts and exegesis cannot. That's why I think meditating on Scripture (not merely studying it) is so important. In this we allow the Spirit to speak the Truth of the words to us.

It's fascinating to me how the Spirit chooses to speak through these words. There are many different theories of how He does this, but what really matters when it comes down to it is that He does. And it can be a beautiful thing, if we choose to let them be spoken to us. God is singing a song to us through His Word, the very music of Heaven. Biblical exegesis, theology, philosophy--these are things that are aimed at finding the heart of the song, but we have to remember to sit back and enjoy it as well, letting the Spirit sing to us the song of Heaven.

Soak it in. Let it fill you. Let it speak to the very core of your being as you seek God through His Word.