The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
Week 12: Book Three, Chapters XLII–LIX — Hope in God Alone
Read Book Three, Chapters XLII–LIX of The Imitation of Christ. Primary Scripture: John 14:27; Romans 8:17–18; Psalm 141:8.
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Book Three closes as it opened — with Christ speaking to the soul — and the final note is one of total reliance: all hope, all trust, all peace, fixed in God alone.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Chapter XLVII has Christ promise: 'An hour shall come when all labour and confusion shall cease. Little and short is all that passeth away with time.' Thomas keeps returning to eternity as the lens that reframes present suffering. How does the promise of eternal glory change — or should it change — the way you endure present difficulty? Is it a live hope for you, or does it feel abstract?
2.Chapter XLVIII contains one of the book's most beautiful passages: the longing for the 'day of eternity' — 'Day always joyful, always secure and never changing.' Thomas then confesses honestly: 'Oft am I continually distracted... for often and often, where in the body I stand or sit, there I myself am not; but rather am I there, whither I am borne by my thoughts.' Is this honest with your own experience of prayer and attention?
3.Chapter XLVIII also contains a profound diagnostic: 'For whatsoever things I love, on these I readily converse and listen... Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.' Thomas says attention follows love. What does the pattern of your thoughts — what your mind wanders to when it is free — reveal about where your treasure actually is?
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