To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.
- A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
As I near the completion of my first and forthcoming book, one of the chapters I have been working through is on the Greatest Commandment. One of the many ideas that have possessed me for the near 18 months of writing this volume is how the Greatest Commandment is diagnostic.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments.
Jesus according to Matthew 22:37-40
One commandment, that is actually two, with three categories of persons to love. Yourself, Others, and God. Three in One.
The scandal of this statement perhaps still stings the reader two thousands years later. How you love God is a reflection of how you love yourself. How you wound others is how you wound yourself. Our relationship with the infinite is a referendum on our finite selves.
But the Nazarene takes this one step further: All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Jerome in his original Latin writings of this verse used the word pendet in place of hang on. This is where we get the English word ‘depend’.
The Greatest Commandment isn’t only for Heaven and Hell but the divisions of our own day. That our Conservatives and Liberals, the people who protect the law and those who see beyond the law depend on people who love their God, love each other, and love themselves. We need only to reflect on our own triune out pouring of love to determine the source of our despondence.
When we triage for love of self, neighbor, or Lord, we cannot point to anyone other than ourselves. It is our job alone to undo the locks holding back the waters of our hearts. No excuse will do. Love is an inside job with every external repercussion.
It is here I remind myself and share the reminder with you to not feel guilt or failure. In plumbing the depths of ourselves, we will inevitably find the dark waters. It is here in these sunless spaces that we are commissioned to make an oasis. A dwelling place for a spirit capable of unconditional love.
It would seem in the dark waters we discover God, ourselves, and others much like the creation account. To find love we must continue through the story, leaning into the exodus and exiles. We must dare to find ourselves, others, and our God. Then, completing the paradox, we must dare to continue the pursuit.
The Bindings
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. I attempted to read this book roughly six years ago and probably understood 5% of it at best. Returning now I may grasp 20% of what’s there. But for the discerning spiritual westerner, the challenges in this book should at least adorn your shelf and be exercised more than once every six years.
Dominion by Tom Holland. Not written by Spiderman, but still rich with that British penchant for a Cambridge capacity of research. I have been enjoying the audiobook of this near light speed tour of through the history of Christianity as I drive across the Pacific coast North America. My only critique would be that it is unabashedly Anglophilia.
The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella by William H. Prescott. My apologies to my readers as I’ve sunk easily over two dozen hours into this work to be roughly 20% completed with this work. Don’t read this book unless you want to make sense of the modern world. Still I wish more men and women knew this incredible story of Isabella of Castile. When I imagine the epitome of a women politician and military commander, Isabella is far and away the model worthy of imitation.
The Letterings
. Matt’s encounter with a feeling of peace while walking in the forest to Miner’s Falls in Michigan is beautifully documented in his own word and photos. A worthwhile read and reminder why in the Latin world we call these places Bosque, where the German’s got their word Bosch for appliances. As it is in nature we are washed clean.. In his midsummer review, Chris shared one of his beautiful photos of the beach near his home. Chris’ imagery is the perfect invitation to dive deeper into his writings. Like the ocean his writings are both heavy and tranquil yet like a worthwhile voyage, always worth the read.Rebehold the Stars by Elena Attfield. When I found Elena’s work through her Twitter months ago, I felt warmed as I had found another mystic seated in the snows of Finland. I could write an essay in praise of her work here but this one sentence alone should entice you to the entire piece: To be a humble subject of a dark night and a bright morning is, as a wise monastic once told me, “the only way to make sense of our existence.”
Until next week,
-Steven
Just an unbelievable piece, Steven. I can feel the clarity, the momentum, and the creativity pulsing through the page as you near the end of your book. So excited for you, and thank you for these incredible pieces of truth.
It always amazes me how you take topics that I take as complicated and convoluted and develop them in such an accessible and clear way.
The part about how you would others is how you wound yourself struck a chord with me.
Also, the fact that I usually need to translate at least one word from your essays, so I don't feel like I'm missing something important, is like "ugh," but also really cool.