A wondrous encounter with scripture invites us to self-disclosure and to enter the wondrous divine dialogue with clarity, insight—and holy desire! This conversation isn’t for mere information, or even for academia (although we hope this will satisfy both), their intent is nothing less than a transformation into our original “image and likeness,” which is the very image of God. What always and finally matters for all of us is encounter. Enter the wondrous divine dialogue with clarity, insight—and holy desire! The struggle in the study of scripture mirrors the struggle with life. Scripture guides us through the three steps forward and two steps backward of life.

There are two moments that matter. One is when you know that your one and only life is absolutely valuable and alive. The other is when you know your life, as presently lived, is entirely pointless and empty. You need both of them to keep you going in the right direction. The first such moment gives you energy and joy by connecting you with your ultimate Source and Ground. The second gives you limits and boundaries, and a proper humility, so you keep seeking the Source and Ground and not just your small self.

When we find ourselves immersed in struggle, we find ourselves trafficking in more than the superficial, more than the mundane. That’s why maturity has very little to do with age. That’s why wisdom has more to do with experience that it does with education. We begin to feel in ways we could never feel before the struggle began. After we ourselves know struggle, we begin to weigh one value against another, to choose between them and the future, rather than simply the present, as our measure. Some things, often quite common things, we come to realize—peace, security, love—are infinitely better than the great things —the money, the position, the fame—that we once wanted for ourselves. Then we begin to make different kinds of decisions.

No one comes out of struggle, out of suffering, the same kind of person they were when they went in. It’s possible, of course, to come out worse than we were when we went into the throes of pain. Struggle can turn to sour in us, of course. But it is equally possible, if we choose to reflect on it, to come out stronger and wiser than we were when it began. What is not possible, however, is to stay the same. This six-hour conversation helps you develop meaningful ways to struggle with the scriptures and discover meaning for the divine, for God, for love, in your life.