” . . . finding more of God. I assure you nothing, absolutely nothing will bring you more of him than loving him. Turning our hearts toward God in love opens our being to receive him like no other practice. And it is a practice, something we consciously and actively engage in through the moments of our day.”- John Eldredge
In Chapter 8 (“Remembering Who You Love”) of Get Your Life Back, John Eldredge talks about a photo and text he received from a friend. The photo, taken from the window of a bush plane somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness, gave John a surprising intrusion of joy. Because something dappled the surface of the autumn tundra- seventeen thousand feet below. His friend’s text explained. It informed John that the “dapple was ninety thousand caribou stacked for a river crossing.”
Filling John’s heart with joy, the massive migration reminded him of God’s love. Yet, the author observes, as Christians we’ve heard many messages about love and loving God. As a result, we may develop a kind of callous to the beauty of what those messages reveal. Perhaps, John adds, we even find ourselves feeling a bit bored.
Furthermore, we need to transition in order to disentangle from the world. Above all, that includes the spiritual world. For, John notes, it runs at the same hectic pace as the secular world.
Finally, disappointments cause our soul to build up resistance to this most essential of all truths. John explains the resulting effects:
“[Sorrow] caused my heart to question God’s love for me — sorrow always does. As does suffering and chronic disappointment. The heart reacts by pulling away, not perhaps so far as to abandon faith, but still . . . something gets in. Some wounded doubt about his goodness and, more pointedly, his goodness toward us in particular.”
Today’s question: What Bible verses or Christian hymns/ praise songs/ books help you in finding more of God through loving Him? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Hearts and souls turned toward God”
