Matthew and I have been reading from John Piper's book, Taste and See:Savoring the Supremecy of God in All of Life. Today, as I flipped through the book, I reread chapter 67, "Augustine on What It Means to Love God." I've been mulling over Augustine's thoughts on what it means to love our God. Here's what he wrote over 1600 years ago:
"I call [love to God] the motion of the soul toward the enjoyment of God for his own sake, and the enjoyment of one's self and of one's neighbor for the sake of God" ( On Christian Doctrine.
So, as Mr. Piper states, the heart of the matter is delight in God. Loving God is not just obedience to the Lord's commands or making decisions for the Lord, but it is to delight in the Lord (consider Psalm 37:4; Philippians 4:4; Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1-3; Psalm 43:4; Habakkuk 3:18).
Continuing Mr. Piper's thoughts, "What, then, was this 'motion of the sould' which is called love to God, in the life of Augustine? Here is one of his many answers:
'But what do I love when I love my God?...Not the sweet melody of harmony and song; not the fragrance of flowers, perfumes, and spices; not manna or honey; not limbs such as the body delights to embrace. It is not these that I love when I love my God. And yet, when I love him, it is true that I love a light of a certain kind, a voice, a perfume, a food, an embrace; but they are of a kind that I love in my inner self, when my soul is bathed in light that is not bound by space; when it listens to sound that never dies away; when it breathes fragrance that is not borne away on the wind; when it tastes food that is never consumed by the eating; when it clings to an embrace from which it is not severed by fulfillment of desire. This is what I love when I love my God" (Confessions).
Oh! My prayer is that as I grow in the faith, my soul would move in this way.
No comments:
Post a Comment