#008 Read The Bible Like Uncle Tom (Psalm 1)
One of my favourite books is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
It’s the fictional story of a man named Tom, an older man, a lifelong slave. A gentle, humble soul.
And, like the author, Tom is a Christian.
It’s a dramatic story, imaginatively written, but also full of wisdom, insight, social comment and instruction on Christian living. Beecher Stowe has somewhat of a pastoral concern for her readers, willing that they would find not just sympathy, but inspiration in her main character for their own personal walk with the Lord.
Through Uncle Tom, she teaches us how to read the Bible.
The author writes:
‘Is it strange, then, that some tears fall on the pages of his Bible, as he lays it on the cotton-bale, and, with patient finger, threading his slow way from word to word, traces out its promises? Having learned late in life, Tom was but a slow reader, and passed on laboriously from verse to verse. Fortunate for him was it that the book he was intent on was one which slow reading cannot injure,—nay, one whose words, like ingots of gold, seem often to need to be weighed separately, that the mind may take in their priceless value. Let us follow him a moment, as, pointing to each word, and pronouncing each half aloud, he reads,
“Let—not—your—heart—be—troubled. In—my—Father’s—house—are—many—mansions. I—go—to—prepare—a—place—for—you.”’
When I read this paragraph from the novel I’m reminded of Psalm one, which encourages us to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.
Meditation in the Bible is not an emptying of the mind, but rather a filling of the mind with scripture, so that we might think upon it, consider it, ponder its meaning and application.
Meditation is an unhurried process, not something we are to rush through.
Christian, like Uncle Tom, perhaps the best way to meditate on the scriptures is to thread our way slowly from word to word, tracing its promises with patient finger, weighing each word separately as if each one were an ingot of gold.
Surely, also, that’s why in Psalm 19 the Psalmist’s delight was in the law of the Lord. Because in his unhurried meditation, each word became a precious treasure leading to eternal life.
As David himself wrote, the words of God ‘Are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold.’
It’s the fictional story of a man named Tom, an older man, a lifelong slave. A gentle, humble soul.
And, like the author, Tom is a Christian.
It’s a dramatic story, imaginatively written, but also full of wisdom, insight, social comment and instruction on Christian living. Beecher Stowe has somewhat of a pastoral concern for her readers, willing that they would find not just sympathy, but inspiration in her main character for their own personal walk with the Lord.
Through Uncle Tom, she teaches us how to read the Bible.
The author writes:
‘Is it strange, then, that some tears fall on the pages of his Bible, as he lays it on the cotton-bale, and, with patient finger, threading his slow way from word to word, traces out its promises? Having learned late in life, Tom was but a slow reader, and passed on laboriously from verse to verse. Fortunate for him was it that the book he was intent on was one which slow reading cannot injure,—nay, one whose words, like ingots of gold, seem often to need to be weighed separately, that the mind may take in their priceless value. Let us follow him a moment, as, pointing to each word, and pronouncing each half aloud, he reads,
“Let—not—your—heart—be—troubled. In—my—Father’s—house—are—many—mansions. I—go—to—prepare—a—place—for—you.”’
When I read this paragraph from the novel I’m reminded of Psalm one, which encourages us to meditate on the law of the Lord day and night.
Meditation in the Bible is not an emptying of the mind, but rather a filling of the mind with scripture, so that we might think upon it, consider it, ponder its meaning and application.
Meditation is an unhurried process, not something we are to rush through.
Christian, like Uncle Tom, perhaps the best way to meditate on the scriptures is to thread our way slowly from word to word, tracing its promises with patient finger, weighing each word separately as if each one were an ingot of gold.
Surely, also, that’s why in Psalm 19 the Psalmist’s delight was in the law of the Lord. Because in his unhurried meditation, each word became a precious treasure leading to eternal life.
As David himself wrote, the words of God ‘Are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold.’
Comments
Post a Comment