“Suddenly it had become sweet to me to be without the sweets
of folly. What I once feared to lose was now a delight to dismiss. You turned
them out and entered to take their place…” (pg.155)
This
reminds me of the verse Philippians 3:8 where Paul says that he “count[s]
everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus”. I
love that Augustine points to the sweetness of knowing Christ being much
sweeter than all that the world has to offer. The follies of the world are
counted as garbage in comparison to his relationship with his redeemer. Augustine
dismisses his fears of loss. The ability to do this comes from the great
confidence he had that he could never lose his greatest treasure, Christ. When
Christ fills us, he is enough to sustain us and fulfill our needs. There is
much maturity in the way that Augustine is able to recognize this and portray
this concept in his writings.
I commented on Dallas and Abigail's posts
I commented on Dallas and Abigail's posts
Great post, Hannah. As God takes out folly form within/ destroys those desires, it is freeing. Those sins and struggles, prides and chains that hold us back are dismissed-- not painfully but in joy. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe security that we have in Christ is truly freeing. We can have the peace that no matter what happens in this life, we have all we need.
ReplyDeleteI love Augustine's grasp on truly knowing Christ; He is enough. Today we base our happiness on worldly things and that temporary happiness is constantly having to be recharged by something. In Christ we have joy, life might not always go how we would want, but we have joy.
ReplyDeleteI love that you brought this point out! I was just discussing with my mom the beauty in choosing to follow Christ. A testament to our faith is the fruit of our action and word. Believing and accepting God's grace is delighting in Christ.
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