The Gift of Thorns
Jesus, the Flesh, and the War for Our Wants
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Today's follower of Jesus exists at a moment in history when our desires, longings, and wants are being weaponized against us by cultural, spiritual, and relational forces. "Follow your heart" and "You do you" has become our moment's mantras. The result, for too many, is feeling torn asunder by the raging desires within. What do we do with our desire? What about our unwanted desires? And how do we cultivate desires which bring life and freedom and lead to Christ? The Gift of Thorns, by A. J. Swoboda, addresses these questions and more.
The path forward is anything but easy. It is assumed by too many in the Christian community that desire is in and of itself bad or dangerous and must be crucified for simply existing. Desire is demonic for some. But, for many others--particularly in the secular West--desire must be followed through and through. This side deifies desire. But these two options sidestep the joy in the great challenge of finding God in our desire. There exists an ancient and sacred way that is forged around the life, wisdom, and power of Jesus and his Spirit. In short, what makes a follower of Christ is not whether or not we have desires. Rather, it is what we do with the desires we have.
Near the end of the story of humanity's rebellion, the theme of "thorns" is introduced. As readers will discover, the thematic repetition of "thorns" pops up over and over throughout the Bible. What are the thorns for? They will be, in the words of God, "for you" (Gen. 3:18). The premise of this book is that a world where we do not get all that we want is, well, the greatest gift ever.
Customer Reviews
An important book talking about God, us, and our desires
This is the first book I’ve ever read that is about a theology of desire, i.e. what can desire tell us about God, who we are as humans, and what it’s all pointing towards.
A.J. Swoboda takes the reader back to the beginning: about how God desired creation and humans; about how God created us from the beginning with desire, for himself but also for one another; and how Satan twisted those desires.
In Part 2, Swoboda investigates what happens when desire is separated from God’s presence and what to do about the biblical term “flesh” and what do we do with those desires. Remove God from the equation, then desire becomes unmoored and it becomes humanity’s ultimate pursuit, their idols. Christian maturity tempers desire, roots it in God, and recognizes that when desire for God wains, that we are called to more than attraction. Instead we are formed best when we realize our lack.
Part 3 talks about reordering our desires, away from rebellion and recentering them again around God. This is a lifelong journey, which involves filling up on right desire, which begins and is founded on a renewal of the presence, the wonder, a desire for and of God. This transforms us from the inside out. Reordering desires involves discerning the good from the great, the secondary from the most important. The good needs to be hated in favor of the best—a fascinating little discourse on the language of hate and what it means in scripture.
In part 4 Swoboda tells us about reviving our passions. First we need to recognize that desire is at the root of the deepest hurts we suffer: desire disappointed or betrayed, desire unrequited. They have been weaponized against us to maim and destroy, but it can also be the doorway to renewal. Those whom scripture most praises, are those who recognize their spiritual hunger and thirst, and pursue God. In the final chapter, desire is essentially the sign that none of us are home until our deepest desires are met. But it isn’t about getting what we want, which Swoboda identifies as God’s wrath (get the book and read about it), instead its being at peace with what God wants and discovering that our true desires are found within his story and will.
I highly recommend this book, not only for its theological insight, its insight into modern identity, but also as a study in the Christian spiritual life. This has the makings of a classic.