The Simple and Humble Thing
I was rereading Kierkegaard last night and came across this interesting thought:
The simple and humble thing is to love God because you need him. It may seem so lofty to love God because he is so perfect, it may seem so selfish to love him because you need him, yet the latter way is the only way in which you can in truth love God. Woe to him who would make bold to love God without needing him! The one who most deeply recognizes his need of God loves him most truly. You should not presume to love God only for God's sake. No, you should understand that your life's welfare eternally depends on your need, and for this reason and this reason alone you should love him. (Provocations, p. 300)
I see an element of this in my son, who has taken to saying "I love you" on a rather frequent basis to his parents, sometimes to the point where it almost gets annoying. Now, we understand that he is still learning what that phrase means. And to a 3-year-old mind, who really knows? But at the heart of it I think he certainly knows that he needs us, and that is a big part of why he loves us. As he grows older and becomes less dependent on us I would hope that this love would become something deeper than just an outflowing of his need for us. But I suspect that a certain part of that will always be there. After all, we are designed to need parents, even if - for whatever reason - we may not enjoy an ideal relationship with them.
As for my relationship with Becky, I need her. As my wife, I need her. Not in an unhealthy parasitic way, but because I have committed my life to her and she to me, we are bound together in such a way that our lives no longer function independently. That need is deep, and I can remember aching when I am without her for an inordinately long period of time. And I think that is perhaps the way it should be.
Now, with God I think there are some strong parallels here, and Soren is expressing something quite profound. The reality is, we owe our very being to God, and we therefore need him at the most basic of levels. But more than that, when we become followers of Christ we are joined to Christ, and our need becomes something far deeper. Something that overflows into love and gratitude, and hunger for God and his presence. We need the joy that only he can provide, we need the eternal kind of life that God alone gives. We love God because of these things. Because he first loved us, and because of that love for us, he gave...everything...
The simple and humble thing is to love God because you need him. It may seem so lofty to love God because he is so perfect, it may seem so selfish to love him because you need him, yet the latter way is the only way in which you can in truth love God. Woe to him who would make bold to love God without needing him! The one who most deeply recognizes his need of God loves him most truly. You should not presume to love God only for God's sake. No, you should understand that your life's welfare eternally depends on your need, and for this reason and this reason alone you should love him. (Provocations, p. 300)
I see an element of this in my son, who has taken to saying "I love you" on a rather frequent basis to his parents, sometimes to the point where it almost gets annoying. Now, we understand that he is still learning what that phrase means. And to a 3-year-old mind, who really knows? But at the heart of it I think he certainly knows that he needs us, and that is a big part of why he loves us. As he grows older and becomes less dependent on us I would hope that this love would become something deeper than just an outflowing of his need for us. But I suspect that a certain part of that will always be there. After all, we are designed to need parents, even if - for whatever reason - we may not enjoy an ideal relationship with them.
As for my relationship with Becky, I need her. As my wife, I need her. Not in an unhealthy parasitic way, but because I have committed my life to her and she to me, we are bound together in such a way that our lives no longer function independently. That need is deep, and I can remember aching when I am without her for an inordinately long period of time. And I think that is perhaps the way it should be.
Now, with God I think there are some strong parallels here, and Soren is expressing something quite profound. The reality is, we owe our very being to God, and we therefore need him at the most basic of levels. But more than that, when we become followers of Christ we are joined to Christ, and our need becomes something far deeper. Something that overflows into love and gratitude, and hunger for God and his presence. We need the joy that only he can provide, we need the eternal kind of life that God alone gives. We love God because of these things. Because he first loved us, and because of that love for us, he gave...everything...
posted by Paul at 12/15/2005 06:56:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home