Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge - a review

Wild at Heart was originally published ten years ago. The author has slightly revised this anniversary edition and added some end material.

What was true ten years ago is still true today, and will be true until Jesus returns – a man needs to know his true self, and he needs to know how his true self relates to other men, to women, to the world, and to his God.

Eldredge convincingly argues that men have been denied knowing themselves at a deep spiritual level by wounds, both purposeful and accidental, in their childhood, and by a world that neither values nor understands their real nature. We are in a world at war, a war with an unseen but very real enemy, and men are born to be warriors engaged in that struggle. The problem is our world doesn't want warriors; it wants "nice men."

This book, along with others by Eldredge, is important reading for men who want to discover their true selves, and women, who want to understand true manhood and discover their own true womanhood. I suffered "the wound" myself, and for years compensated for that spiritual and injury by cutting myself off from people emotionally. Until I read this book, I was never able to articulate that pain. Wild at Heart helped complete the healing of that wound.

Click here for disclosure of material interest 

Getting Back To Normal...

It has been difficult these past weeks. Losing Pastor Ken was one of the most difficult things I have ever faced. There have been two men in my life that have made an indelible spiritual mark on me, and both of them died unexpectedly and way too young. Some of the shock of this most recent loss is wearing off, but the disbelief and grief are still raw. The numbness is better, but the pain is fresh.

In the middle of all that, my mom suffered a stroke and died. For a few days, things seemed almost overwhelming. It seemed that the whole world was saturated with tears and adrenaline.

As many of us have said in the past few weeks – without God, how could anyone face this? And I am quick to add – and a church family. I cannot count the times someone from our church has comforted me, encouraged me, shed tears with me, prayed for and with me, and fed me.

Of course, they are one and the same. God chooses to work in the world through His people.

Hmmm... bet there is a sermon in there somewhere.

Healing Place...Part 2

When a person is losing blood, it is pretty obvious- it is messy, and to the untrained eye, horrifying and distracting. Even obviously contrived Hollywood blood is distressing. In many injuries the thing that kills is not the injury itself but the resulting blood loss. One of the first things done in the ER is to start to restore blood volume with saline, plasma or even whole blood.

What are we losing in emotional trauma? Joy, contentment, self-confidence, sleep,concentration, and more. How do we restore these things? Check out Galatians 5:22-23. These "fruits of the spirit" are just exactly what are needed.

When in pain we are internally focused. Our healing goal is to redirect focus from "me" and "my pain" to "Him" and "His presence in my life." Of course, as naturally selfish and self-centered, our tendency is inward and not outward- but outward and toward Christ is the only place we will ever find true joy and true contentment. After all, the pain and loss we are dealing with is usually caused by the loss or betrayal of something human or worldly.

Healing Place...

Even though it's not in my primary job description, I have found myself doing a lot of counseling lately. People might be amazed at the depths in which some people find themselves. Sometimes the situation is the consequence of their own poor choices; sometimes they are the result of someone else's poor choices; regardless, they are desperately hurting.

I started thinking about what we sometimes do in our church office to what goes on in an emergency room. Let's think about it. The patient has been stabbed — deeply. The knife is there, buried in the wound. He is in terrible pain, blood is everywhere, and a life is in danger. Sometimes he is screaming and writhing in agony; sometimes he is motionless, paralyzed with the injury. What do you do?

I am going to spend a few posts exploring this metaphor a little and comparing how much alike a knife into the body and a blow into the soul are alike.

In traumatic injury, the very first thing to do is to control the bleeding and shock. There will be a lot of things that have to be done in the future, but the absolute first thing is to stop the loss of blood, restore blood volume, and deal with shock.

What is the analog of physical blood loss and shock is the emotional trauma? Stay tuned — you didn't think I was going to waste a multi-entry idea on a single post, did you?