Tuesday, June 30, 2009

"Epic"

"Epic", my latest John Eldredge quick read, was a nice visit back to Eldredge land. I always share his vision, especially here, that the stories we are most drawn to are because of the desires and the grand plan God has laid out for us. The reason we love the the story is because the formula is our own.

Act 1: Eternal Love
Act 2: The Entrance of Evil
Act 3: The Battle of the Heart
Act 4: The Kingdom Restored
Act 5: The Road Before Us

There are a few sections of this book I would like to discuss. The parts that stood out to me the most. I may only get to my first point today though, so check back for more in the near future.

One of the points he made was this:

"It came as a great surprise to me as a counselor when I first discovered that children would much rather know that their parents loved each other than that they loved them. But, of course, we need to know that love is real, that it endures, that a world of love is planned for us and waits for us, and that we can count on it."

This struck quite a cord with me. I wholeheartedly agree and I think this is one of the major reasons our society is so plagued by divorce. That many children, like myself, of divorced families find it hard to believe in lasting life-long love and commitment. We have a view that it will all end at some point because, in our experience, it always has.

Although many people have faith in marriage because their parents were able to give them that incredible example, a large majority of us have lost that, have even lost placing value on such a thing. The only reason I have faith in marriage is because I have faith in God. This is why I believe a faithless marriage is destined to fail, or at the very least is not going to be as beautiful a picture as God intended. For me that faith is rooted in God and, although I think this is the best course, others find seeming success in rooting the faith of their relationship lasting in love, in goodness, in trust, in truth. These marriages may last the test of time, but to me God encompasses all these things, making Him the focus of not only my future (hopefully) marriage, but of my life.

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