Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13
“We do not content ourselves with the life we have in ourselves and in our own being; we desire to live an imaginary life in the mind of others, and for this purpose we endeavour to shine. We labour unceasingly to adorn and preserve this imaginary existence and neglect the real. And if we possess calmness, or generosity, or truthfulness, we are eager to make it known, so as to attach these virtues to that imaginary existence.
We would rather separate them from ourselves to join them to it; and we would willingly be cowards in order to acquire the reputation of being brave. A great proof of the nothingness of our being, not to be satisfied with the one without the other, and to renounce the one for the other! For he would be infamous who would not die to preserve his honour.
We are so presumptuous that we would wish to be known by all the world, even by people who shall come after, when we shall be no more; and we are so vain that the esteem of five or six neighbours delights and contents us. We do not trouble ourselves about being esteemed in the towns through which we pass. But if we are to remain a little while there, we are so concerned. How long is necessary? A time commensurate with our vain and paltry life.
Vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier, a soldier’s servant, a cook, a porter brags and wishes to have his admirers. Even philosophers wish for them. Those who write against it want to have the glory of having written well; and those who read it desire the glory of having read it. I who write this have perhaps this desire, and perhaps those who will read it.”
Pensées by Blaise Pascal, section 1:147-150.
In the Renovare resource book, 25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics, editor Julia L. Roller surveyed a prestigious board that came up with this list of must read books.
1. On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius (~AD 318)
2. Confessions by St. Augustine (~AD 398)
3. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers
4. The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict (~AD 400)
5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (~AD 1320)
6. The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous (~AD 1375)
7. Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
8. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis (~AD 1420)
9. The Philokalia (4th-15th Century)
10. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
11. The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila (AD 1577)
12. Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross
13. Pensées by Blaise Pascal (AD 1669)
14. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (AD 1678)
15. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
16. A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law (AD 1729)
17. The Way of a Pilgrim by Unknown Author
18. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
19. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
20. The Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins
21. The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
22. A Testament of Devotion by Thomas R. Kelly
23. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
24. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
25. The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen
I’ve read many of these classics and decided to use this list as a guide for my reading in the coming days. Perhaps pick one for your reading. That said, I started with Pascal. This post come from Pensées. Though written centuries ago, it rings with modern relevance.
Most people go about living imaginary lives. Just this week in my Pinehurst Bible Study we read today’s Scripture: Love must be sincere or real. We talked about how unreal many people are today. Real love is coupled with unselfish service, spiritual fervor, perseverance, and sharing.
Related to generosity, it’s giving not to get a reputation. If so, it just proves the “nothingness of our being” apart from Christ. Instead it’s giving that flows through us because we are connected to Christ, as the divine source, and serving as a channel of His goodness for His glory.
As you reflect in the days leading up to Christmas, soak in this Scripture, abandon the imaginary, and ask the Spirit to show you how you might live, give, serve, and love in real ways.