“God is love, but if we get it turned around and make being loved into our god, we get lost in self. Death of self is always the pulse that keeps love alive.”- Ann Voskamp
“But whoever is united with the lord is one with him in spirit.”- 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV)
Ann Voskamp concludes Chapter 3 of WayMaker as she underscores that to give your life to Christ = the work of a lifetime. Therefore, no easy way exists. Certainly, Ann notes, love involves a narrow way that limits one’s options. However, love expands and fulfill your soul. And, as Puritan preacher Thomas Watson (1620-1686) pointed out:
“In other marriages, two make one flesh, but Christ and the believer make one spirit.”
Furthermore, Ann underscores, when you expect another human being to fill all your emptiness, expect to divorce yourself from Jesus, the only way through. Thus, what we all look for centers on looking into the eyes of Jesus. Because He’s the only One – and He’s always looking for us. As Curt Thompson writes in The Soul of Shame:
“We are all born into the world looking for someone looking for us, and that we remain in this mode of searching for the rest of our lives.”
In conclusion, Ann notes, shame bears down, but grace lifts up. Also, shame bullies us, while grace serves as our shield. Above all, thanksgiving provides a way for us out of our entitlement, judgment, and control management. Gratefulness, Ann adds, makes for a greater life.
Most significantly, the author exhorts, every Christian needs to become a little Christ. C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity:
“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”
Today’s question: Do you agree that death to self = the pulse that keeps love alive? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The essence of happiness – self-forgetfulness”
