The Lost Art of Reflection

I love definitions!  :)  Because words mean things.

reflection - the reverting of the mind to that which has already occupied it; continued consideration; meditation; contemplation; hence, also, that operation or power of the mind by which it is conscious of its own acts or states

Reflection.  Continued Contemplation.  A lost art.  William Churchill nailed it:

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, 

but most of them pick themselves up 

and hurry off as if 
nothing 
had happened."  

Especially in this age of constant input and information overload.  Who has time to contemplate life?  To wrestle through thoughts?  To think God's thoughts after Him? Thinking takes time and is hard work.

And it is precisely 

this art of reflection 

that begins to moves truth 

from my theological box 

into my real-life box.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he... Prov 23:7a. 

How do I start?  Grab a piece of truth.  Turn it over in my hands.  Look at it from all angles.  Breathe it in.  Meditate on it.  Sit with it in God's presence.  Ask for revelation.  Ask questions.  How can I say this in my own words?  How does this relate to real life?  What does it really mean?  How does it apply to me?  Take a current situation or trial.  What Scripture do I need to dwell on?  What aspects of God's character can sustain me?  What promises?  What truth?  Contemplate.  Reflect.

Shatter the intellectual disconnect.  The first step to true life change.

"... The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."  James 1:25