The Sacred Romance

My wife and I are reading through The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge. Having read two other books by Eldredge, Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead, he's quickly become one of my favorite authors. In Sacred Romance Eldredge first outlines his concept of the great controversy with his late friend Brent. Here's a paragraph from "God the Ageless Romancer":

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 Sacred Romanace, 71)

Perhaps we experience God as Father/Author/Creator too often. I guess that's why the Father sent the Son - our Brother, Hero, and Friend. On the cross Jesus proved that, yes, the heart of God is good.

For more on John Eldridge visit Ransomed Heart Ministries.