Draining a pen
I had just bought a brand-new package of chewing gum. Having placed it on the living room banister, I made the mistake of giving my teenager permission to help herself. By that afternoon, the package was empty, all flavor chewed out, and a gum snapping mouth came asking the question “Do you have anymore? This is stale.”
Are you kidding me? Gone already? I thought, but I couldn’t get frustrated because I totally understood. When that sweet initial experience wanes, I look for another hit of something fresh. That’s how we all are; we get bored easily.
These last months I’ve been taking the temperature of my life with God, and have been looking for something more, something fresh. Those exhilarating seasons of deep connection feel a little distant. I’ve heard it said that, “You can have as much of God as you want.” And while I believe that, because the Spirit probes the very depths of God. (1 Cor. 2:10), I wonder how much of God I really want?
In the spring I began a 30-day practice of reflection and communion after reading the book Keep the Blood Warm by Peter Louis. You probably remember me describing how the Levitical priests would sacrifice a year-old lamb in the early morning and at twilight of each day to consecrate the people of Israel. How they daily felt the gravity of death and the hope of forgiveness, and how the Lord challenged the author: “If the priests of the Old Covenant were so diligent in stewarding the blood of lambs, how much more should my New Covenant priests steward the blood of My Son.” (1 Peter 2:5)
It moved me, and so I followed that practice faithfully the entire month, recommending others do the same.
The encouragement to write out the scriptures that were provided each day impacted me in a surprising way. I found that, while it took time, I enjoyed the process of thinking, speaking, and writing the words of the different passages. It was prayerful work. I embodied the writing as if I were the author penning the words for the first time, addressing friends and believers in that day. It had deepening effect on my inside.
I was sad when my 30-days came to an end recently. The structure had done me good, and now it’s up to me to stay engaged.
At church we promote the congregational practice of daily scripture reading which provides the basis for our community spiritual formation throughout the year. We began reading the book of Revelation in our plan, when I had the idea that since it was a letter written to seven Churches in Asia minor, I’d continue my morning devotion by writing the epistle into my journal. Again, I embraced the labor of the author, by putting pen to paper and feeling the words flow.
What began as an experiment of copying a single chapter has today become a journal filling up with the epistles of the NT. When I finished Revelation, I went backwards to Jude. There were lessons to learn as I did. It took effort to keep my mind from wandering, to really think about what I was reading and transcribing. I can read much faster than I can write, but the slower pace highlighted nuances in the words, repetitions, and references that I’d for years passed over. In this way I paused on them, trying to think more thoroughly. It took longer than I anticipated. The original authors, inspired by the Spirit, thoughtfully spent significant time with quill and parchment crafting them.
Sitting on my desk this morning is a leather-bound journal with my own handwritten manuscript of Revelation through Hebrews. I didn’t start off intending to write down the New Testament, and I’m not sure I will, but once I felt the life on it, tasted the sweetness in it, I kept on. I’m not sure I’ve ever truly drained a pen of its ink, but presently I’ve done it twice, and if the taste remains, I’ll be buying other journals and pens soon.
It's hard to transcribe the scriptures and not turn their themes into prayer. It’s the unexpected pleasure to an old, some might say stale, practice of reading the Word. I’ve said that to grow more effective in prayer we must become more familiar with the language of the Bible. A new twist on an old practice. Writing the Word while praying its themes is freshening my mornings.
I challenge you to block out some time and try it. Just a few minutes a day, with a heart to find Him, can bring something fresh to stale routines, and if you haven’t read Keep the Blood Warm, perhaps it’s time.
