Mansions of the Heart: Book Review

Mansions of the Heart: Exploring the Seven Stages of Spiritual Growth 

by R. Thomas Ashbrook 

Ashbrook shows that there can be much more to being a Christian than church attendance, prayer, Bible reading, missions, service, and tithing, as vitally important as all of those things are.

There is also the opportunity for a deep, deep relationship with God. Drawn from Teresa of Avila’s classic, The Interior Castle, written in the 1500’s, Mansions of the Heart guides the reader through deeper spiritual growth.

First, Ashbrook defines each of the seven mansions, which allows the reader to see where he currently resides. Here’s a list of the mansions:

Outside: Lost; not yet a Christian

• First Mansion: New beginnings
• Second Mansion: Between a rock and a hard place (Here’s where a lot of Christians shipwreck and either go back to their old ways, or remain Christians, but don’t progress
• Third Mansion: Following Jesus
• Fourth Mansion: Discovering the love of Jesus
• Fifth Mansion: Longing for oneness with God
• Sixth Mansion: The passion of God’s love (Here’s where Ashbrook described the Dark Night of the Soul)
• Seventh Mansion: A life of love in the Trinity

After describing each of the stages (which are fluid), Ashbrook suggests ways to progress into further mansions, thereby deepening our relationship with God. Within each chapter, Ashbrook touches on the following areas with respect to the mansion in which we currently reside:

• “Your Heart’s Desire” in relationship with God
• “Key Activities” in response to God
• “Changing Patterns of Prayer” in communication with God
• “Jesus’ Initiatives” to draw us into a deeper intimacy with God
• “Schemes of the Enemy” to try to destroy our growth in God
• “Keys for Growth” that help us cooperate with God

Mansions was not a quick read. In fact, I expect to be working with it for a long time to come. But it was just what I needed at this time, along with a number of other books that I have recently discovered.

If you feel you are being called into deeper intimacy with God, this book is a great addition to your spiritual library.