Bookworms: Sacred Pathways

Photo by Primitha, Creative Commons License

Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas

This book is a helpful guide to understanding our different temperaments in terms of how we relate to God. It calls us back to the creativity of God and the diversity of ways that we can pursue Him, experience Him, know Him. So many times we can allow ourselves to get complacent and settled into routine in our quiet times or our Christian walk. This book provides a plethora of ideas and wisdom as we seek to cultivate a thriving & growing relationship with Christ.

The author outlines nine sacred pathways of loving God:

• Naturalists: Loving God out of doors
• Sensates: Loving God with the senses
• Traditionalists: Loving God through ritual & symbol
• Ascetics: Loving God through solitude & simplicity
• Caregivers: Loving God by loving others
• Enthusiasts: Loving God with mystery & celebration
• Contemplatives: Loving God through adoration
• Intellectuals: Loving God with the mind

He uses church tradition and exemplars of the faith as guides as he unpacks these nine temperaments, providing examples and explanations of each as well as temptations to avoid. I appreciate his emphasis on Biblical truth as well as dangers inherent in each pathway. I wish there had been more scripture references and plan to incorporate Bible study as I revisit it.

My dominant temperament is that of a contemplative. It means, like Mary, I yearn to sit at the feet of Jesus in adoration and praise. “Contemplatives live for this love. They want nothing more than some privacy and quiet to gaze upon the face of their heavenly lover and give all of themselves to God.”

Contemplatives love to have secrets with God, so I cannot share all my secrets here. But, one of the practical ways I worship is to put on some of my favorite worship songs, songs that echo my heart’s cry and allow me to revel in who God is. Two of my all-time favorites are Adonai, by Avalon, and How He Loves Us, by David Crowder Band. Classics. I cannot listen to those songs and not be moved. Wherever I am, they break through routine and apathy, through complacency and selfishness. They stir my soul anew with adoration and praise. This book gave me suggestions for cultivating that adoration, provided some examples of contemplatives throughout scripture and history, and outlined some temptations common to contemplatives, many of which resonated with me.



I strongly recommend the book and recommend taking the time to consider how you relate to God. It is so helpful to know what helps you draw close to Him through daily life. I plan to revisit the book alongside scripture, and to incorporate some of the suggestions to keep my walk with Christ fresh and full of life.



Bookworms is a series of reflections on books that have encouraged me, challenged me, made me think differently. I love books that make me think and ones I can get lost in, ones that have captivating stories or ones of captivating importance. You can browse my bookshelf at the bottom of my blog to see my eclectic collection of recent reads. In this series, I'll share some reflections on some of the ones that have been especially meaningful to me. Enjoy!