Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality (The Spiritual Journey)
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
In our self-reliant era, most of us recoil from the concept of surrendering to a power or authority outside ourselves. But surrender need not be seen as threatening, especially when the One to whom we surrender is the epitome of goodness and love.
God doesn’t want his people to respond to him out of fear or obligation. Rather, he invites us to enter into an authentic relationship of intimacy and devotion. And so God calls us to move beyond mere obedience—by surrendering to love.
In this profound book, David G. Benner explores the twin themes of love and surrender as the heart of Christian spirituality. Through careful examination of Scripture and reflection on the Christian tradition, Benner shows how God bids us to trust fully in his perfect love. God is love, and he intends for you to live in his love. Surrender to Love will lead you to an unexpected place, where yieldedness to God frees you to become who he created you to be.
This expanded edition, one of three titles in The Spiritual Journey trilogy, includes:
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- Explores the twin themes of love and surrender as the heart of Christian spirituality
- Shows how God bids us to trust fully in his perfect love
- Leads readers to a place where yieldedness to God frees us to become who he created us to be
- Foreword by M. Basil Pennington
- Preface: Surrender, Love and Spirituality
- It All Begins with Love
- Love and Fear
- Surrender and Obedience
- Transformed by Love
- Becoming Love
- Epilogue: Surrender and the Spiritual Journey
- Appendix: For Reflection and Discussion
- A Five-Session Discussion Guide to Surrender to Love
- A One-Session Discussion Guide to Surrender to Love
Surrender to Love by David Benner is one of my favorite spiritual books, so much so that it is an assigned text in our Transforming Community experience. With the addition of an excellent study guide, it becomes an even more effective tool for spiritual transformation.
—Ruth Haley Barton, founder, Transforming Center, author of Life Together in Christ
If love makes the world go around then it’s clear why the world isn’t doing very well. The tragic reality is that most people don’t know what real love looks like, and so they spend a lifetime living with a superficial caricature of the real thing. David Benner shows us that our willingness to cultivate an intimate love relationship with God is directly related to our ability to experience a rich and meaningful love relationship with another person. If you’re tired of substitutes and want to go for the real thing, if you are ready to experience deep levels of companionship and connection, then Surrender to Love is for you.
—Gary J. Oliver, PhD, executive director, The Center for Relationship Enrichment, and professor of psychology and practical theology, John Brown University
I receive many books to review. This is one of the most beautiful, powerful and insightful books I have ever read. Dr. Benner shares his lived experience in a way that opens for the reader the possibility of a true transformation.
—M. Basil Pennington, OCSO, abbot, Abbey of Blessed Mary of Saint Joseph, author of Centering Prayer