A Loving Life E-Book

Paul E. Miller

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Having successfully helped readers develop a solid prayer life with the best-selling release of A Praying Life, author Paul Miller applies his expertise to an even more important issue—love. After all, love is what holds all things together, it's what we're looking for, it's what we all need, and it's what we must learn how to give. But loving people is hard. Our neighbors, friends, kids, spouses, and even our enemies require a relentless, self-giving demonstration of love that only God can produce within us. Taking his cues from the perseverance and faithfulness portrayed in the book of Ruth, Miller sheds light on a biblical portrait of love that is sure to give us hope and transform our souls. Here is the help we need to embrace relationship, endure rejection, cultivate community, and reach out to even the most unlovable as we discover the power to live a loving life.  

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“I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the most honest, timely, and helpful book I’ve ever read about the costly and exhausting demands of loving well. And at the same time, A Loving Life is the most faithful, alluring, and encouraging presentation of God’s love for us in Jesus I’ve fed on in years. These two themes go hand in hand. Through the biblical story of Ruth, Paul Miller gives us hope, not hype—the freedom to suffer well, stay present, and live expectantly in all of our relationships. Thank you, Paul, for making the gospel more beautiful and believable to me.”

Scotty Smith, Teacher in Residence, West End Community Church, Nashville, Tennessee

“Every once in a great while one reads a book that is so profound, so fresh, and so life changing that you can’t get it out of your mind or your heart. A Loving Life is that kind of book. Walk with Paul Miller, Ruth, and Naomi to the place of real love, and you’ll never again settle for a substitute. Read this book, rejoice in it, and give it to everyone you know. They will bless you for giving it to them as I bless Paul Miller for writing it.”

Steve Brown, Host, Key Life radio program; author, Three Free Sins: God Isn’t Mad at You

“Reading this book nourished me deeply. With caring attentiveness especially to often-overlooked ‘modern’ widows and widowers, Paul Miller gently pastors us through the story of two courageous, hesed-embracing single women, Naomi and Ruth. He invites us to embrace the death at the center of covenant love and to learn it as the downstroke of reality—the upstroke of which is ever the grace of surprising resurrection. In Christ, Christians all, and the world, reap the far-reaching blessing of these unlikely benefactresses. And we do again in this little book.”

Esther L. Meek, Professor of Philosophy, Geneva College; author, Loving to Know: Introducing Covenant Epistemology; A Little Manual for Knowing

“The book of Ruth is about hesed, a loyal love, that Ruth shows to Naomi, Boaz shows to Ruth, and, behind the scenes, God demonstrates to his people. Paul Miller not only brilliantly explains the story of Ruth, but also shows how hesed love can transform us and our relationships. I highly recommend this book.”

Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

“Being married to Joni, a longtime quadriplegic, I know my marriage vows are always in need of polishing. And Paul Miller’s new book fits the bill; I’ve yellow-highlighted nearly every page. A Loving Life reinforces that the best—the only—kind of love is one-way and without an exit strategy. If you are looking to shore up the for-better-or-for-worse, in-sickness-and-in-health promises in your marriage, you couldn’t lay your hands on a better read.”

Ken Tada, Director of Ministry Development, the Joni and Friends International Disability Center

“‘Death is the center of love.’ Miller’s insight comes as he beautifully retells the story of Ruth in terms of the gospel, revealing a path of love more dear and deep than our cultural icons and distractions can create, and more precious than any pursuit of self can dream. Here is love vast, unmeasured, boundless, free, and freeing.”

Bryan Chapell, President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary; Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois

“The word love is often either a vague sentiment or just another four-letter word. But in Paul Miller’s hands, the quiet, compelling reality emerges. You will witness how love is thoughtful, principled, courageous, enduring, and wise—all the things you know deep down it should be. And even more than those fine things, you will be surprised and delighted at how true love is grounded in God.”

David Powlison, faculty, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation; Senior Editor, Journal of Biblical Counseling

“Paul Miller reminds us with boldness and insight that a relationship with Jesus Christ means journeying with him to the cross, where we most know of the love of God for us. As such, it is the only path to learning to incarnate that love ourselves—and so to dance to the Spirit’s constant rhythm of being loved and loving others.”

Joseph “Skip” Ryan, Minister, Park Cities Presbyterian Church; Moderator, General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America

“I was sure that Paul Miller’s A Praying Life had to be his greatest, but ALoving Life is better. How can we care for others much more than for ourselves? How can we escape from the slippery pit of our ‘feel good’ culture? Keep going through the book of Ruth and discover good and godly ordinary life, and how you can live it in an extraordinary way—the way of love, God’s way.”

D. Clair Davis, Emeritus Professor of Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary

“A Loving Life is a worthy successor to Paul Miller’s much-appreciated book on prayer. It is a careful, thorough analysis of the book of Ruth, understanding it as a love story and making good applications to our own experiences and needs for love. Paul here shows not only a deep understanding of God’s Word, but also a rich knowledge of human nature, both in the ancient world and today. He offers biblical responses to many of the misunderstandings and problems we have with love of all kinds. May the Lord give this book a broad readership!”

John M. Frame, J. D. Trimble Chair of Systematic Theology and Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida

A LOVING LIFE

A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships

Copyright © 2014 by Paul E. Miller

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Faceout Studio, www.faceoutstudio.com

Cover image: Shutterstock.com

First printing 2014

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. 2011 Text Edition. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-3732-5 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3733-2 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3734-9 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3735-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Miller, Paul E., 1953–

A loving life : in a world of broken relationships / Paul E. Miller.

1 online resource

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-1-4335-3733-2 (pdf) — ISBN 978-1-4335-3734-9 (mobi) — ISBN 978-1-4335-3735-6 (epub) — ISBN 978-1-4335-3732-5 (tp)

1. Bible. Ruth—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Love—Biblical teaching. 3. Love—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.

BS1315.52

222'.3506—dc23

2013029345

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Dedicated to those who do hesed love:

Barb, Carolyn, Carren, Chris, Dan and Lisa, David and Brooke, Denise, Dianne, Don and Linda, Holly, Jill, Joe and Colleen, Julie, Karl and Janet, Kate, Linda, Lisa, Lucy, Margarete, Mary, Nancy, Paul, Philip and Susanna, Philip and Suzanne, Ralph and Isabel, Rich and Ruth, Rob and Lynn, Roger and Jane, Steve, Tina, and Vicki

A special thank you to

Ron and Kim Avery, Ray and Dianne Baker, Howard and Deanna Bayless, David and Amy Dodd, Jim and Cynthia Eckert, Kristina Kimball, Greg and Marcia Riching, Steven and Tammy Scruggs, Dwight and Jayna Smith, the Sweet and Strawbridge families in honor of John E. Sweet, Jim and Christy Valenti,

CONTENTS

Introduction: A Love-Hate Relationship with Love

Part One

COMMITTED LOVE

1

Suffering: The Crucible for Love

2

Love without an Exit Strategy

3

The Lost Art of Lament

4

Love Is Not God

5

Death: The Center of Love

6

Entering a Broken Heart

7

Discovering Glory in Love

8

Loving against My Feelings

Part Two

THE SHAPE OF THE JOURNEY

9

The Gospel Shape of Love

10

Love Lands

11

Love Protects

12

The World Moves for Love

13

Humility: The Path of Love

14

Love Creates Community

15

Love Invites Resurrection

16

Love Burns Its Passport

Part Three

LEARNING TO THINK IN LOVE

17

Thinking in Love

18

Rightly Ordered Love

19

Discovering God on the Journey of Love

Part Four

LOVE WINS THE DAY

20

Wisdom in the Pursuit of Love

21

Love Celebrates

22

The Legacy of Love

23

Love Is Forever

Acknowledgments

Notes

Works Cited

INTRODUCTION: A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH LOVE

George1 sat across the table from me in a Chicago restaurant. Nine years ago he had been an elder at his conservative evangelical church when he’d walked away from his wife, Teresa. He told me, “I’m good at starting to love, but really bad at the follow-through.” I thought Teresa would agree. I said, “So you have a love-hate relationship with love. You want intimacy, but you become overwhelmed with the work of love.” George nodded.