No Man Is An Island

Brad and Wayne read through some excerpts from Thomas Merton's No Man Is An Island, which were quoted on Wayne's Blog a couple of weeks ago. In these stirring passages Merton talks about our fears that no one will love us and how they rob us of the beauty of relationships because we can no longer simply be who we are, but must resort to pretense in the desperate attempt to get others to love us. There is not a more poignant commentary on why most people have never tasted of the richness of sincere relationships with others. Then answer? Discovering how loved we are by God, even in the face of our brokenness and failures, so that we can live in his grace instead of our fears.

4 Comments

  1. We just discovered this website today and listened to No Man Is An Island. It stirred a lot of recognition in us. Our question is: How do you make the jump from head to heart? We know “Jesus loves us because the Bible tells us so”. We hear Thomas Merton’s words and yours and recognize their truth. And we realize we’re chronically addicted to seeking others’ approval, in church and out. It has proved unsustainable. We can last maybe 6 years, maybe 2 years in a church, then we say “We don’t fit.” We feel like lepers, going from town to town. We know all the truths about serving others; ask not what the church can do for you, ask what you can do for the church, but we find ourselves TRYING to love instead of loving as an outgrowth of a deep feeling of God’s love for us. How do we get there?

  2. This podcast was spot on. I believe so many will relate to it. If there’s one word that comes to my mind it is “wilderness.” Wilderness living… living without the knowledge that we are fully and completely loved by Father. It is a lonely but necessary place where the Lord does a wonderful job of unraveling our preconceived ideas about Him and about ourselves. It’s a place to stop, look and listen.

    Shelly and Tim… I think that just seeing your situation as you do is a wonderful step towards freedom from the obligations of others, from the tyranny of looking for love in all the wrong places. Now you need to stop TRYING to love and to be loved and rest in the reality of His love for you. I think it’s that we can’t relate to such love. Most of our life’s experiences have taught us that love has conditions attached to it. God’s love is not like our love.

    Take joy in the fact that you are seeing anew here… asking questions… feeling tired and weary for where you’ve been. You are beginning to see with new eyes. His eyes. You ARE loved!

  3. Hello Brad and Wayne I just listening to No Man Is An Island
    I agree with alot of what you guys are talking about on the podcast. Because as a man I found myself doing things to be loved by a women or friends. Never to avail always ends in disaster. Thank you for sharing this podcast

  4. I have just discovered “The God Journey” in the last few days and it is so refreshing to my heart. At this time in my life, it provides fellowship and encouragement that I do not get anywhere else. Just listening to a few of the recent podcasts has so opened my heart to know Father’s love for me. I have read “The Shack” and loved it and I have been familiar with http://www.lifestream.org for years as well. God has been working in my heart all these years, and as everyone says, it sure seems like a slow process and even though I see myself growing to know His love, there is always so much more to know.

    Praise God for your ministry to so many people and to myself. I don’t know where I would be without it.

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