E896 | The Ladder of Love - Part 2

Stasi Eldredge (0:00)

We are co-heirs with Christ. We have the same father. What does it mean that he's our brother?

John Eldredge (0:05)

Hey everybody, have you thought of Jesus as your sibling? I just love this. I bet that is blowing a few people's minds right now. Yes, like absolutely, Lord King, love even, life, sibling?

Stasi Eldredge (0:20)

Sibling.

John Eldredge (0:20)

Brother.

Stasi Eldredge (0:21)

Sibling.

John Eldredge (0:22)

Older brother.

Stasi Eldredge (0:23)

Our elder brother who has gone before us. I am so moved by this, I could almost start crying.

Because it's so beautiful, this kind of intimacy.

John Eldredge (0:34)

Well, welcome back, everyone. We're so delighted you chose to be with us again here in the week of October 5th, the Wild at Heart podcast. It's a big week for us. It's a big week for Stasi.

Stasi Eldredge (0:47)

It is.

John Eldredge (0:48)

The launch of her book tomorrow, The Ladder of Love. And we're going to pick up with a conversation about what does it look like? And how do we access this sort of ascending life of a deeper communion with God, a deeper experience of Him, which I'm really looking forward to. But before we go there, we are going to take our pause. So again, as we enter into the purpose of the pause, you're just going to take a few breaths, a few deep breaths, and begin to let go of the rush, the hurry. It might be the loneliness. It might be just kind of numbness. You're just going to let go of all things right now, so that you can become aware of your own soul, and so that you can become aware of the presence of God with you. So what is it that you need to release? And sometimes I need to ask the Holy Spirit, Lord, what is it that I need to release to you right now?

To get out, to back out, to lovingly detach, to just take care of my own soul for a bit, and to allow you to speak and to commune with me through this podcast. Breathe in to me the breath of life and our union again. In the name of Jesus.

Never gets old.

Stasi Eldredge (3:23)

I love it. I know.

John Eldredge (3:25)

I know. You know, every time it's a little confession, every time we start the podcast and I take our dear friends into the pause, I feel intrusive. I feel like it's, oh, come on, let's-

Stasi Eldredge (3:40)

Let's just rock and roll.

John Eldredge (3:41)

Yeah, let's go. Yeah.

And it is disruptive.

Stasi Eldredge (3:46)

Intentionally, right?

John Eldredge (3:48)

But in a really lovely way.

Stasi Eldredge (3:49)

In a beautiful way. And I had a great morning with God. You know, I'm in a good place with him. And then I don't, oh yeah, I do need that. It's so good.

John Eldredge (4:00)

Yeah. Okay. So if you weren't with us last week, you might want to pick up part one of this first. We are continuing a conversation into Stasi's beautiful new book, The Ladder of Love, which also has a video curriculum.

Stasi Eldredge (4:20)

Yeah, a companion study guide with a fabulous video. I really love this one.

John Eldredge (4:25)

Really beautifully filmed curriculum and an audio book that you read as well.

Stasi Eldredge (4:31)

That I read, which I think is a little extra special this time because I know that people love it when the author reads the book. Yeah, I do. Yeah. And it's just so good. Yeah.

John Eldredge (4:43)

But why?

Stasi Eldredge (4:43)

But why? Because at the end of each chapter, I have these moments, these sila moments where you pause, before you go into the next one, it's a time of prayer or meditation or a guided encounter, which increases in time as you progress in the book. And so when I get to lead those with beautiful music, so it's an opportunity for whoever's listening to really pause and enter in. Now, I love having a hard copy of the book. I do.

I'm a visual learner. I love underlining things.

John Eldredge (5:16)

Yeah, me too.

Stasi Eldredge (5:17)

But I love the audio of this, too, a lot. So yeah, it's there.

John Eldredge (5:22)

But those encounters, those Selah moments, those are in the book as well.

Stasi Eldredge (5:25)

They are in the book. Oh yeah, they're fabulous. They're in the book.

John Eldredge (5:28)

They're in the book. Yeah. But in the audio, you get to lead people.

Stasi Eldredge (5:32)

Yeah. Yeah. Lovely. Okay.

John Eldredge (5:34)

So I was reflecting, friends, we were, if I could kind of just go macro for a second, intimacy with God is the purpose of human existence. You know, they walked with God in the garden in the cool of the day, which has this beautiful implication of how was your day?