Welcome back to our book club discussion. Be honest, how many of you have read ahead? I can’t blame you! Once you get a taste of Jesus with all of His personality shining through, don’t you just want to spend every single second with Him?

This week we are discussing chapters 5 and 6 here on the blog as well as in the community. If you are reading along, I encourage you to check out the book club community thread and join in. So much goodness is being shared from the women reading along!

Alright, let’s get this thing going!

Chapter 5 – The Most Human Face of All

This chapter centers around the humanity of Jesus and the things John Eldredge writes about were nothing short of earth-shattering for me. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I really fell into the category of those who thought Jesus kind of pretended his way through his humanness. I mean He is the Son of God – was all of this really limiting for Him? Was he really hungry? Tired? Thirsty?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Still God, but so human. It boggles the mind but it also opens the heart to a new relationship. One that feels understood. I’ve said before I read this book at a time when I so desperately needed to see Him as REAL – in the sense that He understood what it is like to be wrapped in human flesh, with human wants and desires and hopes. I needed to know it is possible to walk the hard stuff of obedience in the face of all that.

I needed to know my heart was heard and understood on a human level.

Eldredge writes, “Jesus was more human than humanity. His was the most human face of all. This is going to open up wonders for you.”

And it has!

So, for me, this chapter was freeing.

Would you say you’ve ever really sat back and thought about the full-on humanness of Jesus? What does it do to your heart, to wherever you are on this walk, to know He understands all the wants and needs and desires you’ve got going on inside your human flesh? Does it open to you a new side of your relationship with Him? 

Chapter 6-  Extravagant Generosity

I’m listening to the audiobook of Beautiful Outlaw as we read through together and I have to tell you, John Eldredge is quite the storyteller. I hope you’ve watched the Outlawcast or visted Beautiful Outlaw’s website to watch a few of the videos up.

So far this has been one of my favorite chapters to listen to John read. He says he is “thunderstruck by {Christ’s} abundant generosity strewn around” as he sits and stares at the waves rolling in along the beach. Can you relate? I grew up one mile from the beach. I was raised on sunshine and sand. So, the beach has always been a place of quiet and awe for me.  I can go there and feel God all around me.

I wonder, what is your place? Where do you go to take in the generosity of His creation? His majesty? His extravagance?

I love page 62 of this book. LOVE. It makes me feel gratitude deep in my bones and all throughout my heart. Because of things like this:

“What do we make of the gift of water? You can swim in it, but also float upon it. You can drink it and surf it. Droplets fall from the sky in staggering abundance, yet it also flows in streams and rivers. It makes one sound as a brook, another as a waterfall, and something else entirely together in the silence of snow. This extravagance is almost scandalous.”

Wow.

Scandalous extravagance. Overflowing generosity we find in Jesus. Eldredge points out Jesus’ miracles, his water into wine (908 bottles of wine!!), his interaction with the least of these. Always abundance with Him.

And then he asks, “What does sunshine tell us about the personality of Jesus? What does the gift of our senses tell us about Jesus?”

I wonder today, what does {whatever your heart personally responds to in creation or in life} tell you (and us) about the personality of Jesus?

Do. Share!

We’ll be really working through this together and sharing over in the book club community. We would love for you to join us. So much good stuff is happening over there each week. It’s become a book community of sharing and encouragement and thoughts.

We’d love to see you there!

Hello Lovelies!

For the next few weeks Kristen and I will be switching off each week in sharing our thoughts (we will both be in the community though!) on the chapters we are reading.  We really wanted our main focus to be on the chapters we will be reading in May.  The next 10 chapters really focus in on the personality of Jesus and how He truly is.

Chapter 3

I must admit to being thrilled that I get to share my thoughts on this chapter it is one of my favorites. (Kristen’s MMM is from this chapter!)  The Playfulness of Jesus.  This chapter did so much for my heart.

The chapter begins with a great point by John Eldredge, You can learn a lot about an artist by the work they leave behind.  When we look at the art Jesus left behind we really get a glimpse into who He is.   What are do you see that He left behind?

One of my favorite things John Eldredge does is use his own personal stories.  The story of the chipmunks made me laugh and made me think.  Not only is God creative but He has also shown us His playfulness through nature.  Eldredge points out that if something in nature makes us laugh, for example the chipmunks, He did that.  Even better…. He laughs with us!

God is more playful than we are. (pg 20)  What a thought!  When we look, really look at the world, ourselves, and His Word we see His playfulness.

Orchestrated moments.   Moments of timing where you know without a doubt He had His hand in it.  I call them God moments.  I usually thought of orchestrated moments as  serious thing…. but after this chapter I see that God not only uses orchestrated moments to show us things but also to makes us laugh!

He created laughter.

Jesus laughs.

I must admit that one of my favorite take aways from this chapter is a image in my head of Jesus sitting with His friends and something funny happens and all the sudden there is a loud guffaw and the deep sound of belly laughter.  They look over…and there is Jesus laughing.  Oh what that image does to my heart.

Laughter is from God. (pg. 22)

We are meant to laugh to enjoy this life.  I have always said laughter is one of my favorite things but this chapter reminded me… it is one of His too!

I really could go on and on (Sarah and Abraham’s laughter, the meaning of Isaac…)

Laughter and God moments.  His timing shows us His humor and His playfulness with us.

What does the image of Jesus laughing do to your heart?  What does it say to you about who He is?

Share a recent orchestrated moment from Him that made you laugh. 

Chapter 4

Fierce means furiously eager, intense.

Intention means purpose.

Jesus at times has a furiously eager, intense purpose while on earth.  At times He is leisurely and playful but when the situation calls for it He is fiercely intentional.

He knows the pressure is on.  He is a hunted man (pg 32) and yet He continues with purpose to teach, travel, and heal.  He is very intentional about going about His Father’s business.

John Eldredge gives several examples of Jesus being very intense emotionally yet being very intentional with his actions.

The clearing of the temple.

The healing of the woman on the Sabbath.

The raising of Lazarus from dead.

Each time a different emotion drives him and yet his intentions remain the same.

We see His fierce intentions when something stirs Him deeply.  I am once again reminded that He is an emotional man with deep feelings of love and angry and compassion.

The scene at the temple is one some people have trouble grasping.  After reading this chapter about Jesus and his fierce intentions does this change the scene for you?  What do you see differently about it?

Are you fiercely intentional in your own life?  If so how and if not is this something you want to work toward?

Now it’s your turn to share your thoughts!  You can leave a comment (we do reply there) or even better join us in the community!  We had a great discussion last week!