My spiritual friend in God, this book is an attempt to pass along to you some important lessons learned from experience.
There are four degrees of Christian living: ordinary,
extraordinary, unique, and ideal. We can experience the first three in this life, but the fourth is heavenly. Yet by the grace
of God, we may begin the ideal here and see it continue for all eternity. I list these four degrees as stages in ascending
order.
If you make progress through these stages, the merciful Lord has called you and is leading you to himself by these same degrees.
Early in your life, you lived in an ordinary manner with your worldly friends. The everlasting love of God created and redeemed you. God also inspired your desire for him. It was as though God attached to you a leash of longing and led you to himself. God brought you to the place where
you can be a servant among his special servants. You have an opportunity now to discover a deeper spirituality. New possibilities await you.
Consider your own life. Notice God’s love drawing you carefully, almost imperceptibly, to the unique third degree
of the Christian life. You stand on a steppingstone, the
starting place of the road to ideal spirituality. You may begin
living on this level now, before you die, as well as for eternity.
~ The Cloud of Unknowing /Chapter 1 ~
No comments:
Post a Comment