Episode Summary
What if love isn’t a moral checklist but the shape of reality itself? In this episode, Tim contrasts the world’s idea of love with divine love by exploring agapē as the self-emptying gravity of God—the Trinitarian life that holds the world together—and how our own speech, identity, and action regain weight when we participate in that divine motion.
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Hello Friends,
Why the cosmic night sky photo? Because, as you’ll hear in today’s episode, love—God’s love—is cosmically big. And, as it’s turned out, our exploration of agape has now brought us to the big self-emptying moment of the incarnation. That will be next week’s episode. I can’t wait.
Let me break down what we covered and give you a few questions to ponder related to today’s episode.
Oh Night Divine
We are in the season of the incarnation. And Advent draws near. In today’s episode, I talk more about my new Advent series, Oh Night Divine. It will be great for spiritual reflection, family discussion, and personal enrichment.
Will you join me for this special Advent series that explores what it looks like to chase beauty during the Christmas season?
—> Oh Night Divine — Chasing Beauty During Advent is available now for presale. Buy today and get 20% off: $16.00
Many people are opting for the spiritual formation route. When you buy my Marveling course, you get Oh Night Divine free.
This is my favorite project right now. I’m honored and humbled so many of you are resonating with its theme and are joining the journey.
Riven—When Light Pours In
I mentioned—as the oversharer that I am—my dream of Riven. Over the past few weeks, as I’ve returned to the rhythm of weekly podcasting, I’ve been thinking about what it means to build something that’s more than just a recording schedule.
The reason I moved my family to Oxford was to be equipped; to learn what it was that God wanted me to say and spend the rest of my life saying it.
My new revived rhythm of public writing and teaching has reignited this dream. I keep imagining a small space on our property—a 26x26 studio tucked among the trees. A place to paint, write, teach, record, pray, and gather. The Riven Studio 🥰.
“Riven” means split open, but not in a destructive way—it’s the kind of opening that lets the light in. Christ’s body was riven; the temple veil was riven; and through those openings, life poured into the world.
That’s the kind of work I want to build—work where beauty and truth meet us at the level of the heart.
I’ve always envisioned Riven as a re-imagining of what a 21st-century L’Abri might look like—not an institution, but a small fellowship of beauty, imagination, and sincere searching. A place where people could come to ask questions, to heal, to make things with their hands again, to rediscover the presence of God through beauty.
Whether Riven becomes a press, a creative space, or one day even a retreat house, the dream is simple: to carve out a haven where the riven places of our lives become doorways for grace.
If this inspires you—stirs something in you. Please drop me an email or leave a comment below. Or click over to my website and read more about the dream and ways to give towards it
I’m only in the early stages of developing the vision statement, but you’re welcome to review it and prayerfully consider how you can be part of what we’re planning. —> Click here.
Questions & Reflections from the Episode
* Which “dimension” of God’s love is hardest for you to believe?
* Height — God’s transcendence and sovereignty
* Depth — Christ’s descent into your grief
* Width — God’s embrace of the whole world, including you
Why? Journal about it or discuss with a friend, co-worker, or loved one. This is what I discussed with my parents. It was fun and very encouraging.
* What would it look like to “empty” something this week? Not in a self-negating way, but in a Christlike way:
* A preference?
* An agenda?
* A need to control?
* A hidden resentment?
What would creative relinquishment look like? I’m referencing here what I described as God withdrawing himself to create—the higher into the lower (Lewis’s “transposition”).
* In what ways has sentimentalism shaped your understanding of “love”? I know, that’s a hard one. Now think about culture. How has culture’s version of love:
* Softened its cost?
* Drained its power?
* Replaced holiness with niceness?
* Emphasized preference over truth?
Where is God inviting you into the real thing?
* What kind of “beauty” do you chase? Like Psyche: a beauty that leads upward into transcendence—outside and beyond yourself? Or like Orual: a beauty you want to possess—like a commodity, like a thing you control?
* Which part of the divine-life invitation stirs you most?
* Participating in God’s self-giving life
* Being drawn into the Trinity’s eternal exchange
* Seeing love as ontology, not ethics
* Becoming a person of weight and substance
* Entering the “riven” places where the light gets in
Why? Journal the answers. Discuss with a trusted friend.
Ok, that’s all for this week. I’m excited for next week, and plunging into the incarnation and Oh Night Divine. I’ll see you then!
And, for paid subscribers. Be looking for another “live” posting. We’ll go behind the scenes and discuss more about love and the Advent series.
Cheers,
Tim
The Deconstruction Video
Check out from 1:43 onward—and definitely around 1:55(ish). That’s where Rhett talks about the greatest of these—love. And then ask yourself. What love are you talking about? What does that mean? If faith and hope matter less, then define the love that should rule the faith and rule the world.
TBD Library
* “Transposition” — C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (An Essay Collection)
* Till We Have Faces—C.S. Lewis
* Confessions—Augustine, “… my weight is my love.”
