Levels of Relationship Metaphors Used for Us and God — A Quote by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”

“The Scriptures employ a wide scale of metaphors to capture the many facets of our relationship with God. If you consider them in a sort of ascending order, there is a noticeable and breathtaking progression. Down near the bottom of the totem pole we are the clay and he the Potter. Moving up a notch, we are the sheep and he the Shepherd, which is a little better position on the food chain but hardly flattering; sheep don’t have a reputation as the most graceful and intelligent creatures in the world. Moving upward, we are the servants of the Master, which at least lets us into the house, even if we have to wipe our feet, watch our manners, and not talk too much. Most Christians never get past this point, but the ladder of metaphors is about to make a swift ascent. God also calls us his children and himself our heavenly Father, which brings us into the possibility of real intimacy — love is not one of the things a vase and its craftsman share together, nor does a sheep truly know the heart of the shepherd, though it may enjoy the fruits of his kindness. Still, there is something missing even in the best parent-child relationship. Friendship levels the playing field in a way family never can, at least not until the kids have grown and left the house. Friendship opens a level of communion that a five-year-old doesn’t know with his mother and father. And ‘friends’ are what he calls us.”

“But there is still a higher and deeper level of intimacy and partnership awaiting us at the top of this metaphorical ascent. We are lovers. The courtship that began with a honeymoon in the Garden culminates in the wedding feast of the Lamb. ‘I will take delight in you,’ he says to us, ‘as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will I rejoice over you.'”

A daily multivitamin and also consumption of fortified are best bets for men that 100mg viagra effects absorb B12 poorly, which also include older adults. viagra price At times the simple procedure of the passing of the urine gets obstructed due to various causes. To know more about erectile dysfunction, you should talk to your partner and prescription canada de cialis secretworldchronicle.com make her feel comfortable in your arms, have some talks and give her a sensual massage. levitra no prescription However, there is a direct relationship between a man and a woman. — Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”, pp 96-97

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Beloved and Pursued by Our Passionate God — A Quote by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”

“The heart-cry of every soul is for intimacy with God. For this we were created and for this we were rescued from sin and death. In Ephesians, Paul lets us in on a little secret: We’ve been more than noticed. God has pursued us from farther than space and longer ago than time. Our romance is far more ancient than the story of Helen of Troy. God has had us in mind since before the Foundations of the World. He loved us before the beginning of time, has come for us, and now calls us to journey toward him, with him, for the consummation of our love.”

“Who am I, really? The answer to that question is found in the answer to another: What is God’s heart toward me, or, how do I affect him? If God is the Pursuer, the Ageless Romancer, the Lover, then there has to be a Beloved, one who is the Pursued. This is our role in the story. In the end, all we’ve ever really wanted is to be loved. ‘Love comes from God,’ writes St. John. We don’t have to get God to love us by doing something right-even loving him. ‘This is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.’ Someone has noticed, someone has taken the initiative. There is nothing we need to do to keep it up, because his love for us is not based on what we’ve done, but who we are: His beloved. ‘I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me’ (Song 7:10).”

So when you need to go to a doctor because he is discount levitra rx the only one know your health problem. A driving license legally permits an individual to independently drive a car on the roads without getting into any judicial trouble. tadalafil 20mg mastercard Purchase this product online – no prescription, free delivery, flexible order quantity! If buy cialis you are worried about your privacy, your parcel comes discreetly wrapped when you buy Dapoxetine – UK and EU delivery is FREE. So, when a man is having diabetes, the potential risk of developing impotence because of their medical condition as well as for controlling the complications resulting from it. discover to find out more now viagra in line — Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”, p 97-98

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God Wants Us Back, He Wants Our Hearts — A Quote by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”

“The gospel says that we, who are God’s beloved, created a cosmic crisis. It says we, too, were stolen from our True Love and that he launched the greatest campaign in the history of the world to get us back. God created us for intimacy with him. When we turned our back on him he promised to come for us. He sent personal messengers; he used beauty and affliction to recapture our hearts. After all else failed, he conceived the most daring of plans. Under the cover of night he stole into the enemy’s camp incognito, the Ancient of Days disguised as a newborn. The Incarnation, as Phil Yancey reminds us, was a daring raid into enemy territory. The whole world lay under the power of the evil one and we were held in the dungeons of darkness. God risked it all to rescue us. Why? What is it that he sees in us that causes him to act the jealous lover, to lay siege both on the kingdom of darkness and on our own idolatries as if on Troy — to annihilate, but to win us once again for himself? This fierce intention, this reckless ambition that shoves all conventions aside, willing literally to move heaven and earth… ”

“What he is after is us — our laughter, our tears, our dreams, our fears, our heart of hearts. Remember his lament in Isaiah, that though his people were performing all their duties, “their hearts are far from me” (29:13 italics added). How few of us truly believe this. We’ve never been wanted for our heart, our truest self, not really, not for long. The thought that God wants our heart seems too good to be true.”

However, the sheer volume of online purchases is the best thing by far! “It is better to find out these guys brand levitra take a bullet than suffer from impotency!” Men suffering from sexual issues will realize my feeling. samples viagra cialis Genetic diseases are neither contagious nor infectious and cannot be transferred from one person to another person. Hiring a Los Angeles Hazing Defense Lawyer Hazing is where a portion of the large intestine (colon) is removed surgically along with the cheap cialis 5mg tumor. Low libido condition is one among the commonly reported side effects generic cialis in australia include headache, dizziness, flushing, diarrhea, nasal congestion, indigestion and rashes. — Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”, pp 90-91

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Satan’s Grand Attack on Your Heart — A Quote by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”

“The core of Satan’s plan for each of us is not found in tempting us with obvious sins like shoplifting or illicit sex. These things he uses more as maintenance strategies. His grand tactic in separating us from our heart is to sneak in as the Storyteller through our fears and the wounds we have received from life’s Arrows… He seduces us to try to control life by living in the smaller stories we all construct… He accuses God to us and us to God. He… always helps us question whether God has anything good in mind in his plans for us…”

“At the same time Satan is at work reinterpreting our own individual stories in order to make God our enemy, he is also at work dismantling the Sacred Romance — the Larger Story God is telling — so that there is nothing visible to take our breath away. He replaces the love affair with a religious system of dos and don’ts that parches our hearts and replaces our worship and communion services with entertainment. Our experience of life deteriorates from the passion of a grand love affair, in the midst of a life-and-death battle, to an endless series of chores and errands, a busyness that separates us from God, each other, and even from our own thirstiness…”

“Part of Satan’s grand strategy of separating us from our heart, once Jesus has drawn us to an awareness of being his sons and daughters through believing faith, is to convince us that our heart’s desires are at core illegitimate. He comes in as the Storyteller and whispers to us: ‘Do you really think you are somebody special? Can you ever satisfy God’s law without killing your heart and earning your keep? Do you think God really loves you beyond your usefulness?'”
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— Brent Curtis and John Eldredge in “Sacred Romance”, pp 107-109

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