the heart of christian faith


the prodigal god: recovering the heart of the christian faith
by: tim keller


the parable of the prodigal son.... but really there are two lost brothers. and there is one redeeming father who gives a feast for those who return. to be reminded so eloquently of the father's love for me through a closer look at this parable was not only refreshing for my soul but also amazingly convicting. keller redefinition of lostness shows me the mirror to my soul taking me that much deeper in my understanding how how great my need for a the true elder brother (Jesus) who loves, obey, sacrifices, and pursues perfectly. 

some quotes:
the hearts of the two brothers were the same...both were alienated from the father's heart; both were lost sons.  they both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. this means you can rebel against god and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping them diligently.
keller quotes martin luther: "we are saved by faith alone [not our works], but not faith that remains alone."  
if we say we believe in jesus but it doesn't affect the way we live, the answer is not that now we need to add hard work to our faith so much as that we haven't truly understood or believed in jesus at all. 


i also re-read the secret garden by frances hodgson burnett. i love free downloads on my kindle. i remember loving it growing up; it was so sweet to remember why.

Comments

monica said…
I loved Prodigal God. It's the kind of book you can read and re-read b/c we always are forgetting our lost-ness. Don't you think? And forgetting our found-ness as well!

And I read the Secret Garden for the first time several years ago and was enchanted. I love the magic we can find in God's creation. And what a picture of the seasons, too.

Came looking for your favorite olive oil from a few posts back. :) Love you guys!
7:25 PM EDT
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