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Questions for personal reflection (and, if you wish, communal discussion on our Course Forum):
1. On page 101, the author offers three dimensions of “horizontal respiration” (earthly love, love of neighbor) and three dimensions of “vertical respiration” (love of God). Reflect on these dimensions of love. Which ones come most easily for you? Which ones do you wish to cultivate more fully in your life? What prayer can you offer to seek to grow in love?
2. Page 108: “A magical act presupposes an effect surpassing the normal power of the operator.” Are you comfortable with the idea of God directing a power through you that surpasses your “normal” power? Reflect on John 14:12: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” Recognizing that we are not called to be messiahs, nevertheless, what “greater works” do you feel like you are called to?
3. Page 114: “For good does not fight evil; it does not struggle against it. The good is only present, or it is not. Its victory consists in that it results in being present…” What implications does this idea have for anyone called to resist evil (oppression, privilege, etc.) in our world today? How can we resist evil, without giving in to the temptation to aggressively “fight” it?
Responding to Question 2:
I have become used to the idea that God does things in and through me that I can’t do myself because I have gotten used to the idea of grace. After nearly fifteen years now of living life surrendered to God’s grace and having accepted the call to full-time vocational ministry, the truth is that *most* of the things I do are things that I never could have done myself and am only able to accomplish because of God’s grace. It’s all grace. It’s all supernatural. And therefore it’s all magic, I guess, although I would not have called it that until reading that passage. The point is that “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” and that’s a beautiful thing to experience.
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