Review: Sacred Pathways

Sacred Pathways by Gary L. Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has to be among the books I consider to have revolutionised my Christian worldview. After having read the title once through in the library, I purchased one to keep (as a bible school student, we have to be extremely selective in the books we choose to buy/keep otherwise we would end up with many books that we would never pick up again).

I felt that the feeling of condemnation was lifted when I discovered that God designed us such that we uniquely worship/connect to him through different "pathways." Instructing every new disciple that reading the bible alone is the only way to worship God probably could turn out to be a terrible disservice to him.

Alongside with McIntosh & Rima's Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, I use Sacred Pathways (compiling the questionnaires at the each chapter into a single MCQ Test) as a starting point for my christian friends to better understand their divine design.

I heartily recommend this! Thomas' "Sacred Search" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) is another title that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend!

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Thomas on choosing your children's father/mother

This really got me thinking, do I want my kids to be like in future? That made me do some serious reflection on how I am living my life now. Do I want them to inherit my laziness, messiness or procrastination? It is reality hitting me really hard when I realise that I really have to impart character to my children, and I definitely cannot pass on something that I do not have.

In two days I built a shelf to rehouse all the clutter in my room, cleaned the other bookshelves and posted unwanted books for sale on carousell. Now to start wrapping up the other 20 or so brand new books and put them on the to-read shelf. And to build another shelf so as to move all my inventory for my business into my room in a more space efficient manner.



From Pages 126-127 of: The Sacred Search

"If three people applied to babysit my kids, the mere fact that they all wanted a job wouldn’t be what I based my choice on. I’d hire the babysitter who seemed most stable, safe, qualified, and competent. That’s not being selfish or judgmental; it’s being wise, responsible, and protective of my kids.

You get to start protecting your kids before they’re even born. Give them a godly mom or dad. Even better, raise them in a godly family with lots of spiritual support. Most young people completely discount this. I think it should be much more of a factor in your final decision than many people make it.

If the person you love knows you’re a Christian and says he or she’s a Christian too, that means almost nothing. In one sense, it means a lot, in that if they categorically say they’re not a believer, you have no business marrying them. However, I hope you want more than just someone who simply says he or she’s a Christian. Consider marrying a certain kind of Christian, one with a humble spirituality."

Thomas on the life-giving love in a marriage

In the context of a marriage, Gary Thomas comments on Matt. 6:33 "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

The first paragraph sounds like a fulfilling marriage to me! Bet it is going to be built upon super alot of hard work of dying to self and giving of Christ-like love to one another. Too bad it doesnt just happen magically... 

How can we as sinful, selfish people do as such? Only when in surrender to the moulding of our hearts and wills by you Holy Spirit. We confess we are so prone to sinning again you and one another Lord, help us, if we so choose to be married, to do so with a kingdom framework - that we would seek to put our spouse as more important than ourselves, that a giving of ourselves would be the hallmark of our married lives. Give us a greater glimpse and understanding of how you love your church so that we can do likewise! Amen.

From page 17-18 of The Sacred Search:

When husband and wife are committed in Christ, growing together in the Lord, supporting each other in their spiritual walks, raising children in the fear of the Lord, loving each other out of reverence for God, joy abounds and miracles happen. Selfish people become servants. Self-centered children grow up to become workers in God’s kingdom. Strangers become intimate friends. Daily life is filled with the drama of kingdom building. There are plenty of mistakes, lots of repenting, times of frustration, sickness, and even doubts. But in the end, God’s presence prevails, people are transformed, kingdom work is accomplished, and trials are overcome. If two people join themselves around this mission—if they make their marital choice based on the best person with whom they can accomplish this mission—they are far more likely to have a fulfilling and soul-building marriage.

On the other hand, I’ve witnessed how miserable people can make each other when they live for themselves. Though their initial sexual attraction might have been off the charts, it is usually only a matter of months until they are saying and doing awful, awful things to each other, so awful that they will call a pastor on the phone, someone they don’t even know, because they are so desperate to find another way to live. There was a time when they couldn’t live without each other; every second, they had to be together. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Now they can’t bear to live together. When they’re in the same room, or in the same car, or on the same telephone call, they can’t stop fighting.

It’s made me realize that the old cliché is all too true: a good marriage is the closest two people will ever come to heaven this side of eternity; a bad marriage is the closest two people in an affluent society will ever come to hell. 

Such problems usually erupt from trying to build a life together without purpose, without mission, without something that not only establishes a connection but keeps you caring about each other for the next fifty to sixty years.

Thomas on loving one's wife

A man might be able to preach a sterling sermon, write inspiring books, and quote the Bible front to back. But if he hasn’t learned how to be a servant to his wife, to respect her, and to be considerate of her, then his spirituality is still infantile. His prayer life—the lifeblood of his soul—will be a sham.

From
Sacred Marriage

Reading the husband like a book!

A beautiful anecdote from:
Sacred Marriage

The wife of a couple we know decided to get her husband some golf clubs for his birthday. She went to a store and told the owner, “Here’s the money for a set of clubs. My husband and I will come in here tomorrow night. He’ll look over these clubs, then walk over to talk to me about it, then go back to the clubs and touch the ones he decides are the best option. At that point, I want you to walk up to him and say, ‘Your wife already paid for these yesterday. Happy Birthday.’”

The clerk was surprised and a little suspicious, but he agreed to the plan.

The next day, our friend took her husband to a restaurant next door to the golf shop. After dinner, the husband (as predicted) pointed to the shop and said, “You mind if we just stop in there?”

“Not at all,” the wife said.

The husband walked through the shop and settled on two sets of clubs. He then walked back to his wife and conferred with her about them, then returned to the clubs and touched the set he thought would be best. The owner came up and went through his spiel.