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I Don't Need More Talking About God; What I Need is More of God

I don’t need much more talking about God; what I need is more of God. Do you know what I mean? The clean water of his spirit for washing and soaking and drinking. That living water which springs up within us—and also for those who thirst around us.

Treasures from the Old Testament
First and foremost, I am excited by new and deeper meanings in Scripture—particularly typologies of Jesus in the Old Testament which give us a clue about how Jesus understood himself.

Here’s an example: Exodus 17 describes the Israelites wandering about and—quite naturally—getting thirsty. They complain to Moses, even threatening his life. Moses—quickly and quite naturally—takes the matter up with the Lord, who tells Moses to take the elders to the rock at Horeb and to strike the rock. The Lord says that he will be on (or by) the rock. Moses obeys. After striking the rock, water comes forth from this unlikely source and the people drink.

Now then, skipping forward about 1,700 years to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, John in chapter seven of his Gospel reports: "On the last and greatest day of the feast [the day celebrating the giving of water from the rock] Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, ’Is anyone thirsty? If so, let him come unto me and out of him will pour rivers of living water...’ And by this he meant the Holy Spirit whom the believers were later to receive."

Jesus seemed to understand himself as the rock in the wilderness who would "take the hit" of God’s staff in order for the Holy Spirit to be given.

In chapter 27 of Matthew’s Gospel is the description of the crucifixion and the events surrounding it: "Jesus gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two..." The rock was struck. The water [the Holy Spirit] burst from that cold, stone temple for his better temple [we believers], finally cleansed by the blood of the lamb. Paul confirms this in 1 Corinthians 10:4: "...that rock [in the wilderness] was Christ."

I am blessed that I’ve found friends along the road who’ve helped me drink Christ’s living water; and the life of God in us overflows into each other’s lives. They share with me their books, ideas, images, and music. I’d like to pass on some of these treasures to you.

Summer 1999
Oxfordshire, England
While battling entropy in their garden this summer, friends Kirstin and Greg Johnson opened my mind to the enchanted world of George MacDonald. Although out of print, A Time to Grow is a small devotional with excerpts from many of MacDonald’s stories, and it feeds my soul as well as introduces me to the writer whom C.S. Lewis considered his literary master.

Kirstin and Greg have a yellow kite of unusual size (about 20 feet wide). After flying this kite from the apex of a ruined medieval fortress, we returned to their village, made tea, and sank into the music of Loreena McKennitt’s CD, To Drive the Cold Winter Away (Quinlan Road). The fullness of her voice and the sparse arrangements more than live up to the album title, which is full of lovely Celtic songs and carols recorded in cathedrals. The melody of one particular selection, "Snow," is unforgettable. You can order it from CDNow.com.

Summer 1999
The Ring of Kerry, Ireland
Only one book occasionally kept me off a golf course or out of a pub with my family: G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy: The Romance of Faith. Don’t let the first part of the title fool you—it’s not boring! It’s a short but dense book, full of the author’s classic sense of irony and humor—and a brilliant insight into the upside-downness of things. Chesterton helps me learn to see the foolishness of man and the wisdom of God. He lifts my spirits by teaching me that "Satan fell from the force of gravity." And he explains how "God is the youngest person in the universe," causing us all to become younger as well.

October 1999
San Diego, California
One of the joys I experienced at the Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention was meeting Nicole and Paul Johnson, both actors and writers. Nicole’s book, Fresh Brewed Life: A Stirring Invitiation to Wake Up Your Soul (Thomas Nelson) is the only book I’ve read in one sitting. In it she speaks with candor about cultural misconceptions of a woman’s beauty and value, and then, in practical ways, points ways to the true Lover of our souls—from whom all our beauty comes. Nicole fosters intimacy with God. The book was a wake-up call for my soul. (Tapes of her seminars are also available from YS.)

Montecito, California during the UC Santa Barbara Veritas Forum
Another treasured memory: I was stuck for at least four hours in a monsoon—but I was happy. Why? At the time (1998) I was in a French restaurant listening to Madeline L’Engle reflect on marriage, theology, and the process of writing her fiction series, including A Wrinkle in Time (which I went home and read).

Give These Books a Look
For anyone as befuddled by love as I can be, The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says about Love, Sex, and Intimacy by Tommy Nelson (Thomas Nelson) is a must read. This is a wonderful teaching on dating, courtship, and marriage using Song of Solomon as the treasure map. It could be a lifesaver for people of all ages, including teenagers, and is great for drawing a crowd (Nelson’s church in Denton, Texas, is proof).

For those of you longing for simplicity, a generous and earthy faith, and community, dive into Ron Sider’s Just Generousity (Baker), Marva Dawn’s Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting (Eerdmans), Wendell Berry’s Home Economics: Fourteen Essays (North Point Press), and another out-of-print work, Vera Shaw’s Thorns in the Garden Planet/Meditations on the Creator’s Care. They are gems of timeless wisdom.

And here are a few more books that will deepen our knowledge and love of God and people:

• The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge (Thomas Nelson). A beautiful description of the gospel with God as the relentless lover of our souls.
• Reasons of the Heart: Recovering Christian Persuasion by William Edgar (Baker).
• Anything and everything written by N.T. Wright.
• True Heroism in a World of Celebrity Counterfeits by Dick Keyes (out of print).
• Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups edited by Richard Foster (Harper San Francisco).
• The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard (Harper San Francisco). In fact, anything else by Willard.

And here are a few ministries for which to pray (and check out their Web sites, too):

• Mosaic in Los Angeles
• The International Justice Mission in Washington, D.C.
• The Veritas Forum in a bunch of secular universities

A few more musical discoveries:

• Fernando Ortega (anything by him)
• David Wilcox’s Big Horizon (PGD/A&M). Among his lyrics: "If someone wrote a play/just to glorify what’s stronger than hate/would he not arrange the stage/to make it look as if the hero came too late?" It’s as if Wilcox wrote his words after reading C.S. Lewis for a year. "And in this darkness love will find a way." Excellent tapes or CDs for car rides:
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Focus on the Family Productions)
• The Lord of the Rings (a fantastic BBC recording, 13 tapes)
• The Veritas Forum tapes: 800/874-8730
• Mars Hill Audio with Ken Myers

I pray you’ll also hear less talking about God and simply receive more of him. Come thou fount of every blessing.

Kelly Monroe has served as a chaplain to graduate students at Harvard University for a decade. She also is cofounder of the National Veritas Forum and editor of Finding God at Harvard: Spiritual Journeys of Thinking Christians (Zondervan).