Jones: What somebody called life’ s grubby particulars— God shows up there. So I tried to write in a way that was, as one early reader put it, unflinchingly honest. I turned often to deeply personal stories. Early on, for instance, I tell a story from when I was in grad school. I got a letter from my parents asking me to send back my house key.“ You aren’ t welcome in our house anymore,” they wrote. Thank goodness there was eventual reconciliation, but there were a few years of painful estrangement. And there were other losses I wrote about. I’ m convinced that such pains in our relating— small and almost forgotten or still looming large— affect us over the years. Our heart feels tender-sore instead of tenderly held.
In such seasons we can discover on a deeper level that God doesn’ t stand by as a neutral observer. That God does not simply look from afar. He draws near to share our griefs. I try to point people to the incarnation, where God steps into our world’ s brokenness and gritty realities. He suffers with us. He comes close with intimacy and companionship. I want to remind people of that in a way that takes seriously our griefs and questions.
CRAtoday: You open your book with a very simple and yet profound sentence. It says,“ Am I Loved?” You go on to say,“ Maybe no question nags at us more. Perhaps no question matters as much.” Why?
Jones: It’ s a question that aches within. We sometimes try to cover it over with distractions and busyness, refusing to sit still in quiet. We turn our backs on our thirst to know we are loved, insisting on refuge in our entertainment-centric living spaces.
The ancient sage Irenaeus said that the glory of God is a person fully alive. It’ s clearer to me than ever that such aliveness comes from knowing I’ m less alone than I feared. I am more beloved than I thought. I can let go of the shame for ways I’ ve tripped up. Grace will meet me in the guilt I feel for things done or left undone. A God of kindness shows up right where I live, to the world where we all live.
Our deep need to know we are loved is answered in the vision of a triune God
We may not realize that our deep need to know we are loved is answered in the vision of a triune God who has always existed in relationship and love. What we see in Scripture and Christian tradition points to a God who will go to any length, including the suffering of a cross, to invite us back to fellowship and engage us in communion. It can feel poignant, when you plumb the story. And stubbornly hopeful.
CRAtoday: Being attentive to the Holy Spirit’ s work in our lives is another theme of the book. How do we do that? Why is that so essential to begin to— or continue to— practice? And what role does Scripture and other books play in that process?
Jones: I hear people sometimes call the Holy Spirit the“ shy” member of the Trinity. I have a different take. Many of the images for the Spirit in the New Testament’ s depiction of Pentecost are visceral: fire; a dove descending; a blustery, even forceful, wind. Or a galvanizing breath. The disciples can’ t sit still or stay quiet. The words of the earliest disciples ignited with fiery passion. If they came around today, they wouldn’ t just spread the word; they’ d set off smoke alarms.
Maybe best of all, the Bible calls the Spirit the Advocate, someone in your corner when things get terrifying or distressing or hurtful. The effects are sometimes gentle or the Spirit may overwhelm us with immediacy. He can move us from where we’ ve been stuck, pierce our bubbles of isolation, and incorporate us into the life of the Trinity.
The Spirit often uses Scripture or the writings of others to refresh our memories or invigorate our faith. There’ s more to discover than what we get from newsfeed headlines, podcasts or the celebrity of the day, so I included in the book older, tested voices in the conversation— the Bible, to be sure, and voices from the church’ s past who speak of their gentle or electrifying spiritual discoveries.
CRAtoday: What closing words do you have for the Christian booksellers / retailers reading this piece about how they can apply the teachings of Fully Beloved to their work on the frontlines of connecting authors and their books to end readers?
32 CRA today / www. christianretailassociation. org