Henri Nouwen was one of the great spiritual leaders of the 1900's. He left behind the best of his thinking on a variety of topics, through his books. In a compilation of his on prayer, he writes:
...Jesus desires to meet us..., to make his love known to us, to free us from our fears, and make our own deepest self known to us. In the privacy of our own heart, therefore, we can learn not only to know Jesus, but through Jesus to know ourselves as well. If you reflect on this a bit more you will see an interaction between God's love revealing itself to you and a constant growth in self-knowledge. Each time you let the love of God penetrate deeper into your heart, you lose a bit of your anxiety; and every time you shed a bit of your anxiety, you learn to know yourself better and long all the more to be known by your loving God.
Thus the more you learn to love God the more you learn to know and to cherish yourself. Self-knowledge and self-love are the fruit of knowing and loving God. You can see better now what is inteded by the great commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself." Laying our hearts totally open to God leads to a love of ourselves that enables us to give whole-hearted love to our fellow human beings. In the seclusion of our hearts we learn to know the hidden presence of God; and with that spiritual knowledge we can lead a loving life.
O to know the height, breadth and depth of His indescribable love for us! What would happen if...? Let your thoughts complete that statement and explore the possiblities and potential of a life fully cognizant of the love of God toward all who believe.
Deeply Indebted,
Mitch
