Drawing Near to God through Scholarly Pursuit

"...the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD" 

-Ezra 7:9-10

"... let the wise listen and add to their learning,  and let the discerning get guidance...The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction"

-Proverbs 1:5,7

"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"

-2 Timothy 3:14-16

While God is always going to be beyond our understanding, sometimes the best way to enter into His presence is by intellectually seeking to understand Him and His ways better. While I don't often sit down and devote the time and energy I should to this pursuit, when I do it is always rewarding. 

The key to pursuing God intellectually through study, is to first understand that God will never be completely understood. How can a mortal mind fully comprehend the Divine that created it? It is also important to keep a sense of awe, reverence, and respect while in the midst of studying. It is common trap for theologians and scholars to fall into the false idea that they "get it" and understand everything there is to know about God and the Bible. Some may be deceived into thinking that they actually "know it all" and their interpretation is the "right" interpretation.

However, many others have found and will find God through scholarly pursuit. They find God by studiously seeking to understand their faith so that they can establish a strong foundation for their belief and therefore be able to teach others. They find and enter God's presence by seeking to understand His will. 

As a teacher, one of the most rewarding experiences for me is to see the "light bulb" moment in my students eyes. This is the moment when a difficult subject or topic finally "clicks" and comprehension washes over them. I imagine that God feels the same delight when he sees us, his children, finally begin to understand him and his ways a little better. While we will never understand everything about God, those tiny moments of illumination give us the boost we need to continue pursuing him. A little wisdom goes a long way. 

God is the Great Teacher. To find Him, sometimes we just need to be willing to take the time and effort to go to "class" and study with Him. 

**This post is in my "Drawing Near to God" series inspired by Gary Thomas' book Sacred Pathways.