On the Importance of Study as a Spiritual Discipline

I am currently involved in a small group which meets on Sunday evenings in the home of a family in our church. We are currently studying Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster, and each week, we share and discuss our answers to questions I have developed related to the chapter at hand.

The following is an answer I wrote in response to the question, 'How does study contribute to the fulfillment of the purpose of the Spiritual Disciplines?'

The purpose of the Disciplines is the total transformation of the person, having been made in the divine image, also being remade in said image (i.e., conformity to the image of Xp). Our transformation particularly pertains to the renewal of the mind, us being called to share the mind of Xp, study being used by God as the primary vehicle through which we encounter those thoughts, or ideas, which bring the mind of God (Phil. 4:8; cf. truth, goodness, beauty).