Disciple Scholar Thoughts

It's the start of another Fall, and a new school year begins. We're washed away in the tide of studentism, and our separate identities merge with an innumerable host of others. Our minds are busy adding to a voluminous "to do" list, preparing for the wave of work to come. But just for a moment, we stop to think about what we are thinking about. We attempt to look down at ourselves from somewhere above the world, and survey the seascape, or should I say, the mindscape. How do the concepts of gospel discipleship and gospel scholarship fit together in this ocean of people and information?

To answer this question, we might, at first, be tempted to capture the sand and waves in separate jars, neatly compartmentalizing them into their own sterile units to understand their separate properties. But the fact is, that neither the ocean nor the ebb and flow of life are amenable to this method...as we venture into the water, we become increasingly aware, that the waves are, moment by moment, curling around each and every grain of sand, creating new and ever changing swirls and imprints beneath our feet, unsettling the very foundation upon which we stand.

As we acknowledge the idea that our lives are in constant motion, being shaped by the Spirit, being guided in an upward path that might not always seem straightforward, but might seem to swirl and change and leave us feeling unsettled at times, we become more comfortable with the counter-intuitive, more at ease with the perplexing, more willing to find peace in the unanswered questions of life. For me, my life is about finding truth in everyday living, whether it be studying words in a book, or by studying the words of a child...and the meaning of my life is formed by taking those words, and allowing them to infiltrate my soul like the waves do the sand to create something of worth and beauty.