Excerpts from Henry J. Nouwen’s “The Inner Voice of Love“:
Do you really want to be converted? Are you willing to be transformed? Or do you keep clutching your old ways of life with one hand while with the other you beg people to help you change?
Conversion is certainly not something you can bring about yourself. It is not a question of willpower. You have to trust the inner voice that shows the way. You know that inner voice. You turn to it often. But after you have heard with clarity what you are asked to do, you start raising questions, fabricating objections, and seeking everyone else’s opinion. Thus you become entangled in countless often contradictory thoughts, feelings, and ideas and lose touch with the God in you. And you end up dependent on all the people you have gathered around you.
Only by attending constantly to the inner voice can you be converted to a new life of freedom and joy.
This is the beginning of a journey towards the transformation of a human soul, one that hears the inner voice of Love and walks towards its bidding.
Leave a Reply