The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God

ReviewIn The Sacred Romance, authors Brent Curtis and John Eldredge inspire readers to enter into the greatest romance of all time--one with God. Many Christians have tried to satiate the hunger of their hearts by substituting the love of God with things from this world. Since "our heart is the key to the Christian life," this often leads to spiritual stagnation and unhappiness, while God, the "Great Lover," attempts to lavishly adorn us with His perfect love. Doubting God's goodness coupled with fear of trusting Him blind the believer and prevent him from being wooed by God into a rich relationship. Life can soon be empty, cold, and worthless. Through personal narrative, Curtis and Eldredge take turns convincing the reader not only that God is good, but that recklessly abandoning oneself to Him results in a fulfilling life of abundance and awe. In this portrayal of God's character, the obvious error lies in believing that He could need anything from His creatures, or that He could be "hurt" by their unrequited love. On the whole, however, this is a call to a more passionate relationship with the lover of our souls. A follow-up book, The Journey of Desire, was written by John Eldredge after Brent Curtis's tragic death. --Jill HeatherlyProduct DescriptionIf you long for something more, even if you don't know what that something is, then open this profound book. The Sacred Romance is the story of our lives; it is God's story. It is His invitation to experience His unfathomable love for us. Before long, you will find yourself eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next.The Sacred Romance strikes a chord in us because more than in any other age, we have lost touch with our hearts. We have left that essential part of ourselves behind in the pursuit of efficiency, success, and even Christian service.From childhood on, something or Someone has called us on a journey of the heart. It is a journey full of intimacy, adventure, and beauty, but like any fairy tale it is also fraught with more than a little danger. To ignore this whispered call is to be one of the living dead who carry on their lives divorced from their most intimate selves, their heart. The Sacred Romance calls to us in our fondest memories, our greatest loves, our noblest achievements, even our deepest hurts. The reward is worth the risk.About the AuthorJohn Eldredge is a bestselling author, a counselor, and a teacher. He is also president of Wild at Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own hearts in God's love, and learn to live in God's kingdom. John and his wife, Stasi, live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.CHAPTER 6: God the Ageless RomancerSo long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about-He is looking for us.-Simon Tugwell Can it possibly get any more uncertain than this? We so long for life to be better than it is. We wish the beauty and love and adventure would stay and that someone strong and kind would show us how to make the Arrows go away. We hope that God will be our hero. Of all the people in the universe, he could stop the Arrows and arrange for just a little more blessing in our lives. He can spin the earth, change the weather, topple governments, obliterate armies, and resurrect the dead. Is it too much to ask that he intervene in our story? But he often seems aloof, almost indifferent to our plight, so entirely out of our control. Would it be any worse if there were no God? If he didn’t exist, at least we wouldn’t get our hopes up. We could settle once and for all that we really are alone in the universe and get on with surviving as best we may. This is, in fact, how many professing Christians end up living: as practical agnostics. Perhaps God wille through, perhaps he won’t, so I’ll be hanged if I’ll live as though he had toe through.