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“Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge, 2003.

Mr. Eldredge’s keynote line for this book is from St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “The glory of God is man fully alive.” He discusses this concept in some detail, pointing out the many references in the Gospels and the epistles to the glory of the Christian’s new life in Christ. He observes, however, that glorious new lives are not the universal - or even common - experience of Christians in the United States today. In the book, he examines some reasons for this situation and discusses ways it can be changed.

He says that many Christians do not recognize that God’s desire for them is that they reflect His glory now, in their earthly lives. In addition, and perhaps because of their uncertain concept of life in Christ, they fail to recognize the even greater grandeur of their continuing lives in Heaven, or when Christ returns and restores His creation. (Personal note - I asked in my 6th grade Sunday School class about Heaven, and several students just said, “Clouds.” Like, yippee, unless meteorology is your thing! “Library of Congress” is my usual suggestion ;-).

Mr. Eldredge says that many Christians believe their hearts - their inmost identities - are evil, and that God does not care about them and their hearts. Against this concept, he references Ezekiel’s prophecy, “I will remove your stony hearts and give you hearts of flesh,” and Jesus’s promise, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” The Christian has been given a new heart, the Heart of Jesus, which is filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore his heart is good, though not fully perfected, and he is a delight to God his Father.

As to how the Christian, accepting this truth, can grow in his likeness to Christ and his participation in Christ’s life, Mr. Eldredge summarizes four “streams” of action in believers’ relationships with God and with each other: Discipleship, Counseling, Healing, and Spiritual Warfare. He identifies “Discipleship” as a personal, daily-life relationship with God, whose Voice will speak in our ears when we would turn to the right or the left, saying “This is the way, walk in it.” He goes into some detail about counseling and healing, based on his professional practice as a counselor. However, he also observes that Christian counseling should not, ideally, be so much a matter for professionals as something that is part of intimate Christian friendships. Christians should know one another well, and be able to care for one another in spirit and soul. (I’m reminded of the scene in “Crocodile Dundee,” when Crocodile asks, “Why did she need to pay a ‘shrink’? Doesn’t she have any mates?”) And finally, Spiritual Warfare, with which I know you are familiar!

I first read this book soon after it was published, but had forgotten about it until recently. I was certainly led by God to check it out again; one does get buried, sometimes, by life and work, and forget the beauty and drama of life in Christ *today*, not just in the future.

Hope this helps, and I’m delighted that you had a good retreat experience.