By practicing the three principles of holy love studied here, we can turn control of our mind and heart over to God and experience the love, glory, and joy of his kingdom here on earth.
Hanna Hurnard was a twentieth century Christian author, best known for her allegory Hinds' Feet on High Places. Hurnard was born in 1905 in Colchester, England to Quaker parents. She graduated from Ridgelands Bible College of Great Britain in 1926. In 1932 she became an independent missionary, moving to Haifa, Israel. Her work in Israel lasted 50 years, although she would later maintain a home in England as well. Hurnard's early writings (especially Hinds' Feet on High Places and the sequel Mountain of Spices) were embraced by the mainstream Christian community, but later on in her life she seems to have departed from orthodoxy.
I loved this book. Sweet, encouraging, convicting and full of marvelous thoughts and truths!! It’s a book that makes me want to both seek the Lord more and put these simply thoughts into action in my life. “Where love reigns, the joy of heaven is felt.” Gosh—so true!!!!
Here’s a good little quote— “Even now the kingdom of God is to be realized within us, in our renewed minds, as more and more fully we come under the reign and rule of the King of Love, Christ Jesus our Lord; and in that way brought into an ever-developing unity-though not uniformity-with all other human beings who have already surrendered themselves to the law of love, and the King of Love, or who long to do so.”
AND three good points I just want to remember from my time reading this book: 1. Love accepts and loves all who truly love the Lord Jesus and make him central in their hearts. 2. Then love bears all that irks and burdens and disappoints us in those we are put to work with and with whom we find we disagree. 3. And love learns to pray for all such cre-atively, so that transforming power is liberated in their lives.
I appreciated how Hannah shared her personal struggles and short comings and yet continued to seek God to reveal how there could be unity and love in the midst of diversity of the believers that she was doing ministry with. Human love is so limited and often prejudice hinders its effectiveness. This little book reveals simple, transformative ways for the Holy Spirit to lead us into Agape Love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and for those who are still seekers of Truth and Salvation. I loved her distinction between unity and unification. It is a walking in harmony with one another under the Headship of Christ and in the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are all unique in our temperaments, our giftings and our current understandings, but only the Holy Spirit can bring us into alignment with the full council of Truth, through revelation as we keep in step with Him. And so in the meantime, we seek to bear with one another in love and to build up one another in the faith.
This book had some good ideas and some that are hard for me to accept right now. I mostly didn't enjoy this book. I am not keeping any of the books I have by this author.
Another book by this author that I am glad I read. Though it was not as good for me as The Winged Life, it did provide me with things to ponder. It's definitely one that I will reread. There are some concepts that I need more time to mull over and wrestle with, especially the chapter on bearing with one another in love.
I couldn't really get into this book, but since I've been so busy I haven't found time to get into it that much. I'll dive back into it on a rainy day, or when I'm bored perhaps. What I've read so far was good, though! :I