The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart Of God [Hardcover]

Brent Curtis (Author), John Eldredge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2001

The God who saves is also a God who woos His own to a relationship primarily of the heart. As we draw closer to Him, we must choose to let go of other "less-wild lovers," such as perfectionistic driveness and self-indulgence. Eldredge and Curtis identify the lies offered by "false loves" and instruct us on the journey back to the Lover of our souls.In carefully crafted words and images, the authors entice the reader to his or her own journey of the heart, promising, "It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 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 become 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 Heatherly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 6:

God the Ageless Romancer

So 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 will come through, perhaps he won't, so I'll be hanged if I'll live as though he had to come through. I'll hedge my bets and if he does show up, so much the better. The simple word for this is godlessness. Like a lover who's been wronged, we guard our heart against future disappointment.

In my sophomore year in high school I (John) fell in love with a beautiful junior named Joy. Our first dates were romantic, exciting, and full of adventure. I gave her my heart. One day several months into the relationship, I was trying in vain to thumb a ride home when I saw her car approaching. My heart leaped with anticipation, but Joy whizzed past in her convertible with another guy at the wheel. Adding insult to injury, she waved gaily as they rushed by. I felt the fool, which is what we often do when we feel betrayed. And I never gave her my heart again.

Everyone has been betrayed by someone, some more profoundly than others. Betrayal is a violation that strikes at the core of our being; to make ourselves vulnerable and entrust our well-being to another, only to be harmed by those on whom our hopes were set, is among the worst pain of human experience.

Sometimes the way God treats us feels like betrayal. We find ourselves in a dangerous world, unable to arrange for the water our thirsty souls so desperately need. Our rope won't take the bucket to the bottom of the well. We know God has the ability to draw water for us, but oftentimes he won't. We feel wronged. After all, doesn't Scripture say that if we have the power to do someone good, we should do it (Prov. 3:27)? So why doesn't God?

As I spoke with a friend about her painful life, how reckless and unpredictable God seems, she turned and with pleading eyes asked the question we are all asking somewhere deep within: "How can I trust a lover who is so wild?" Indeed, how do we not only trust him, but love him in return? There's only one possible answer: You could love him if you knew his heart was good. In the movie The Last of the Mohicans, brave Nathaniel has captured the heart of the beautiful Cora. With tremendous courage and cunning, he rescues her from an ambush set by the black-hearted Magua, leader of a warring tribe. Nathaniel leads Cora, her sister, and a few other survivors to a hidden cave behind a waterfall. Just when it appears they will escape and live happily ever after, Magua and his savages discover their hideout. Once captured, the women may be spared but the men will surely be executed. With no powder for their rifles, Nathaniel's only chance is to leap from the falls; by saving himself, he will live to rescue Cora another day. One of the other men calls him a coward, accusing him of foul and selfish motives. How is Cora feeling? What looks like abandonment may not be. Her only hope in the face of such wildness lies in the goodness of Nathaniel's heart. At this point, it's all she has to go on. It's all we often have to go on too.

Does God have a good heart? In the last chapter Brent spoke of God as the Author of the story, which is how most people see him if they see him at all. And, as Hamlet said, there's the rub. When we think of God as Author, the Grand Chess Player, the Mind Behind It All, we doubt his heart. As Melville said, "The reason the mass of men fear God and at bottom dislike him is because they rather distrust his heart, and fancy him all brain, like a watch." Do you relate to the author when reading a novel or watching a film? Caught up in the action, do you even think about the author? We identify with the characters in the story precisely because they are in the story. They face life as we do, on the ground, and their struggles win our sympathy because they are our struggles also. We love the hero because he is one of us, and yet somehow rises above the fray to be better and wiser and more loving as we hope one day we might prove to be.

The Author lies behind, beyond. His omniscience and omnipotence may be what create the drama, but they are also what separate us from him. Power and knowledge don't qualify for heart. Indeed, the worst sort of villain is the kind who executes his plans with cold and calculated precision. He is detached; he has no heart. If we picture God as the mastermind behind the story-calling the shots while we, like Job, endure the calamities-we can't help but feel at times what C. S. Lewis was bold enough to put words to: "We're the rats in the cosmic laboratory." Sure, he may have our good in mind, but that still makes him the "vivisectionist"-the experimenter.

We root for the hero and heroine, even come to love them, because they are living in the drama. They feel the heartache, they suffer loss and summon courage and shed their own blood in their struggles against evil. What if? Just what if we saw God not as Author, the cosmic mastermind behind all human experience, but as the central character in the larger story? What could we learn about his heart?

I worked as an actor in Los Angeles for a number of years. In the theater, when you're preparing to act a part, you want to "get into the skin" of your character, to discover his motives. What makes him tick? Why does he do the things he does? Every human action has a motive behind it. Nathaniel jumps from the waterfall, leaving Cora behind. Why? He lives to fight another day. Why does he live to fight again? Beneath simple motives lie deeper purposes. What is it that drives this hero throughout the course of his life? His love for Cora. Here might be the key to our dilemma: The Scriptures are written from the perspective that God is the hero of the story. Let's revisit the drama with the view of God as lead actor. What is his motive? How does life affect him?

 

The Larger Story

Act I: His Eternal Heart

All good fairy tales begin with "Once upon a time," and so it is with the truest fairy tale of all. In the beginning, which is to say, once upon a time, is used twice in the Scriptures. There is the first verse of Genesis, of course, but we cannot start there because when the curtain goes up on Genesis chapter 1, it is actually going up on later events, the human story. We're after God's story, the drama from his perspective, so we would do better to start with the opening lines from the gospel of John, which take us back even farther to the once upon a time before time: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."

The story that is the Sacred Romance begins not with God alone, the Author at his desk, but God in relationship, intimacy beyond our wildest imagination, heroic intimacy. The Trinity is at the center of the universe; perfect relationship is the heart of all reality. Think of your best moments of love or friendship or creative partnership, the best times with family or friends around the dinner table, your richest conversations, the acts of simple kindness that sometimes seem like the only things that make life worth living. Like the shimmer of sunlight on a lake, these are reflections of the love that flows among the Trinity. We long for intimacy because we are made in the image of perfect intimacy. Still, what we don't have and may never have known is often a more powerful reminder of what ought to be.

Our story begins with the hero in love. As Buechner reminds us, "God does not need the Creation in order to have something to love because within himself love happens."

And yet, what kind of love? There are selfish forms of love, relationships that create closed systems, impenetrable to outsiders. Real love creates a generous openness. Have you ever been so caught up in something that you just had to share it? When you are walking alone in the woods, something takes your breath away-a sunset, a waterfall, the simple song of a bird-and you think, If only my beloved were here. The best things in life were meant to be shared. That is why married lovers want to increase their joy by having children. And so it is with God. "Father," Jesus says, "I want those you gave me to be with me, right where I am. I want them to be one hea...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785267239
• ISBN-13: 978-0785267232
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author's death means something!, June 3, 2000

By 

"thebonbon" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God (Paperback)

One never knows why tragedy strikes but if it is God's will that Brent Curtis' tragic death somehow brings more notoriety to this book in order to help people strengthen their faith and that John Eldredge can come out and say his friend's death only reaffirms to him what they wrote in this book then I praise God that John sincerely believes the truths that he shares with us because I certainly do.

After hearing Chuck Swindoll recommend this book I picked myself up a copy of the Sacred Romance. Few books better characterize the passionate relationship God seeks with us despite our sinfulness and faults. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys this book to also pick up a copy of the Journey of Desire, the sequel to this book. Coupled together they highlight powerful truths about God and about our lives that may shake the way you view your very existence. Life is a struggle and both Curtis and Eldredge can empathize with you. And certinaly it carries the mark of any doctrinally sound book -- that in the midst of disappointment, pain or heart break,no relgious formulas, traditions or idols will give you the healing, fulfillment or joy that you REALLY seek -- they point you back to God for all the answers. That is why I also say as good as this book is the best it can do is point you back to God and the Bible for that is where the story of God's sacred romance with us is unveiled! God bless.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cup of cool water on a hot day!, October 1, 2002

By 

Donald S. Meador "imthman" (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God (Paperback)

The Sacred Romance was such a refreshing read. Perhaps it was just the timing in which I read the book, but I would recommend it to everyone. Here's why:

The opening chapter of the book (The Lost Life of the Heart) spoke to me very strongly - it made my heart pound. I have never had a book do that to me before. I was the one the authors wrote about in the first chapter. It describes what happens when we come to a point of being burned out in our spiritual life - or perhaps is it better to say overwhelmed by the weight of everything around us. It is so easy to be distracted into focusing on our own little stories.

The authors guide the reader to remember that God is up to something big. He is working out in history His own big story. Each of our lives is a little story within that big story. However, so many people get caught up in their own little story, that they forget that God has a role for them in His big story. This causes us to lose heart along the way. Our problems overwhelm us when we forget God's big story.

Okay, but why is this book so good at reminding us of that?

The authors paint the picture of a wild God - the Lover of our souls who pursues us restlessly. They look thoroughly at both the Old Testament and the New Testament. But, this book isn't preachy. The authors go beyond Scripture, while staying Scriptural. They look at Literature and Cinema, old and new. What is this longing presented to us throughout history - why all the stories of the lost love pursued by her lover? Because, deep down inside, we all want to be loved and pursued. The authors show us that the Bible presents us with the story of the Lover of our souls pursuing us. God longs to meet our deepest needs. The authors claim that the intimacy God desires to share with us is "an intimacy much more sensuous, much more exotic than sex itself" (p. 161).

Ask yourself what the following names have to do with God. Forrest Gump, A River Runs Through It, When Harry Met Sally, Robert Frost, Soren Kierkegaard, The Hobbit, Cinderella, Alice In Wonderland, Henry V, Pilgrim's Progress, and Helen of Troy. These, and more, are used to teach us what God wants from us.

Chapter 12 (Coming Home) was worth the price of the book.

I have only one negative comment. I was frustrated by the incomplete bibliography. Hey, it's the scholar in me.

I loved this book so much that I bought a copy for every Sunday School teacher that teaches under my ministry. This is the best book on the overall message of the Bible that I have ever read. I believe everyone, not only Christians, should read this book. I believe it will help non-Christians see what Christians believe, even if the non-Christians don't agree with our beliefs. It will be worth your time and money!

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sacred Romance, December 16, 1999

By 

Christy Broyles (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God (Paperback)

This book ruined my life, in a good way. It met me right where my needs were. I have bought probably 20 copies of this book to give to my friends. Everyone who has read it has said that it seems like it written directly to them. By far the best book I've ever read.