A Review of Stephen Venable’s “A Life of Communion with God” Class
Our culture and this generation are constantly inundated with advertisements. They promise fulfillment, pleasure, and satisfaction, and they are growing more prevalent and more intense as Western culture feeds off consumerism and the insatiable human appetite. Few perceive the danger of covetousness dominating the landscape of the soul and stifling the freedom of the heart. Stephen Venable discusses these issues in his class A Life of Communion with God.
Stephen systematically explores the elements of created humanity and our deep desire for love, beauty, and significance. We were made to feel deeply and to experience pleasure, but we find ourselves in a paradox. We live in the tension of being made for contentment, but being mostly discontent. Nothing we do, no matter how much we experience, how far we travel, how many friends we make, or how many possessions we own, will ever satisfy us completely. Until we give ourselves in abandonment to God, we will not find satisfaction. The contemplatives of old were beacons of light, walking in freedom from the things of this world; Stephen traces the development of contemplative prayer and links it to our high calling of encountering the living God.
Stephen delves deeply into the human predicament and into the pleasures of loving God. The purpose of this class is to set our vision on knowing the depths of Jesus. Communion with God is not esoteric or ethereal, but pragmatic and dynamically related to our development as disciples of Jesus. Our vision must not be captured by what we see around us, but focused upon the person of Christ.
Gaining a life of deep communion can be a long, arduous journey with many barriers along the way. Hundreds of things vie for our attention. Only with proper vision will our hearts endure with diligence as we purpose to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we begin to understand our calling to be transformed to the image of Christ, then everything along the journey makes sense. If not, we may cast off restraint and become ineffective, lawless, and undisciplined. Deep communion with God is the most important vision one can have, not only for ministry, but also for the sheer pleasure of knowing God.
You can take this full class and others online by visiting the IHOPU eSchool.
