Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Intensity of love

The comment below from Ike was just so jam-packed with good stuff that I asked to add it as a post.

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In his biography of Jonathan Edwards, page 497, George Marsden writes, "In the Edwardses' world, the meaning of life was found in intense loves, including earthly loves." It was the tone of their life together. They understood that God is of such a nature, creation is for such a purpose, redemption is of such a power, that intensity of love is the meaning of it all. Intensity. Passion. Wholeheartedness.

Deuteronomy 6:5 makes intense love the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Moderate love is a sin. Maybe the worst sin.

As Augustine said, "Give me a man in love. He knows what I mean."

2 comments:

Ike said...

"I walked out to the hill just now. It is exalting, delicious. To stand embraced by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coat tail and the heavens hailing your heart -- to gaze and glory and give oneself again to God, what more could a man ask? Oh the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!"

Jim Elliot, diary, 15 January 1951, quoted in HIS, April 1956, page 9.

When you became a Christian, did you think you were giving anything up? Were you acting out of a sense of virtue or honor? Or were you running away from all that, toward Someone in whose eyes you saw everything you desire?

Suzanne Marie DeWitt said...

Ike you leave me speechless. Do you have a blog where we can read more?