I finished classes a few weeks ago, so I’ve had a lot of free time recently. I’ve been reading through a few books recently, namely The Pleasures of God by John Piper, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. They’re definitely worth reading if you ever get the chance. In reading the books, I noticed first off the different tones of the writers. John Piper is very heavily soaked in deep theology, while still grounded deeply in Biblical truths. Francis Chan and Bill Hybels seemed to focus more on applying Biblical themes to life, and are also deeply rooted in Biblical truths. However, the books are all challenging in different ways.
Piper’s The Pleasures of God was VERY intellectually challenging. It is definitely something that needs to be read and reflected upon. It takes a lot of mental concentration and dedication. It is by no stretch of the imagination “light reading.” Francis Chan and Bill Hybels, on the other hand, are not quite as strenuous to keep up with; they are challenging in different ways. Piper challenges how we view God and uses TONS of Scripture to support what exactly God takes pleasure in. It was a book that was amazing at shaping doctrine and one’s perception of God. But it was definitely very saturated with deep theology and requires a great deal of commitment to pondering the doctrine contained in the chapters. Chan and Hybels present readers with a more elementary message, but a message that is nonetheless equally as eye opening and challenging.
Crazy Love holds Christians accountable to the Biblical standards of love. He simply presents Scripture and lets it speak for itself. He looks at what the Scripture honestly says, and doesn’t try to explain anything away. But it is still so challenging! It forces the reader to really evaluate how we are letting our lives be shaped by the Gospel, how we are obeying Christ’s commands. Hybels does much of the same thing. He challenges the reader’s view of prayer. He presents Scripture on how we are called to pray. He also offers practical steps that Christians can take to improve their prayer life.
While these two books may not be as soaked in deep theology, they are still deeply challenging. They call one to examine their life and see how exactly it lines up with the Scripture they preach. It is definitely humbling to read through some of these books and the Scripture passages the authors present and compare it to our lives. Jesus’s simple command to love seems easy enough to follow- but I fail to do it so often! Likewise, Scripture is very clear that we should pray, but I have only really started to pray constantly and earnestly recently. And I’m still learning about prayer- how God calls us to pray, why He calls us to pray, etc. These books are so helpful with providing me with a sobering view of myself, as well as an honest look at what Scripture says.
It is so amazing how simply Biblical truths and commands can sometimes be so enlightening to us, when we just take the time to actually look at them! Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love has become so popular recently! I know SO many people who have read it and loved it. However, is he really saying anything amazingly enlightened? I’m sure he would be the first to tell us that he has simply presented us with Scripture! Why is it that we have had these commands for centuries, yet we are still so amazed when we read them? We are so challenged by these commands! I am so grateful for authors like Chan who will honestly present the Scripture’s commands, and challenge us to live in light of them. I must also wonder though- what would happen if the Church actually started to read our Bibles with as much conviction? Instead of reading books about Scripture, why don’t we read the Scripture itself? That is where all of these challenges are coming from! Why don’t we go straight to the source of living water? I wonder how different the body of Christ would be if we took an honest look at Scripture, and strived to live in light of its commands?
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