This book is still intriguing me a second time around. And hard to put down once started.
The book opens with a snippet of a story of a sea lion who live near a small oasis in the desert. No one knows how he got there. He does not even seem to know. He has always been there? But there is a deep desire for something more, for something better, for his intended purpose, for the sea. But that is just a desire. Will he ever have more to life than small, muddy watering hole, a rock, and a tree?
What an example of most people’s lives. There are desires that they have but they are often suppressed for such things as fear, practicality, “that is impossible”, etc. Where is the joy, the fulfillment?
We have knowledge that often hinders us while God really intended us for life! We have eaten from the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” and concerned so much with right and wrong, trying to do the “right” thing and criticizing what is wrong (I often like to do that). Spending so much time on that and have forgotten the “Tree of Life”.
I have struggled with many desires that have been placed in my heart that “aren’t practical” or sound quite foolish from my “knowledge”. I have found that often I am depressed and struggle with life when I do not have the attitude of pursuing these. On the other hand when I pursue these desires I have joy.
Even though I did the foolish thing of spending the month of December away from my family with Christmas being the biggest, most important family event of the year, I am having the time of my life. A great adventure. It really hurts to be away from my family but I could also be stuck in a rut at the normal boring get up, go to work, etc day being discouraged and miss the great opportunities that I am having here in Pakistan. Don’t get me wrong, my family is one of the most important things in my life and they also bring much joy.
Eldredge touches on these points and many others as he attempts to light a fire under the desires of his readers and slowly unfolds the story of the sea lion.
We are given “life to the full”. Will we take it?
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