Recommended Book

I just finished reading The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. It is a book that I highly recommend. From the title you might surmise that the book is drawn from the famous parable of Jesus about a Father and two sons. It is. However, Keller's treatment of the parable is amazing for a couple of reasons. First, Keller presents the beauty of the Gospel. Somehow it seems to me that much of Christianity has lost the beauty of the Gospel. We have been so overexposed to the "good news" about Jesus that we are almost nonchalant about the radical beauty of God's love for us. Second, Keller reveals our tendencies to seek fulfillment in life apart from God's love just as the brothers in the story. As we do, we tend to mask or ignore our lonely existence in the pleasure seeking frenzy of the younger or the self-righteous bent of the older. I am serious in my use of the word "loneliness". Any attempt to live apart from basking in the magnificent love of the Father for His children is far lonelier than God ever intended. There are many reasons for my love for God. One of the greatest reasons is my hatred of "loneliness". Deep in my heart I have recognized that I was created by God to know Him and love Him in response to His great love for me. I have learned that His love dispels the loneliness that plagues our world.