Books used to be my thing. I would read all the time. As you get older, life gets crazier and sometimes things just seem to get away from you.
More often than not lately, I will try and book, read a few chapters and set it down. Months will go by with it unfinished. Sometimes due to lack of interest. And other times because I am just not into it. My unofficially decision as of late is that I won’t even bother unless I have a good recommendation. Especially for fiction books! You just never know
Recently, I came across a post on my instagram feed about a book that was highly recommended. It was good timing as well so I grabbed myself a copy.
A King’s Cross by Tim Keller
TIm Keller has yet to let me down. I highly recommend Meaning of Marriage or Reason’s for God. Prodigal God was also really impactful to my life as well. He is insightful without being too lofty.
A King’s Cross is focused on the book of Mark. It reads like a very loose commentary in a way. It could easily be read alongside the scriptures themselves to give some context and insight.
What I loved about the book was just that it focused on Jesus. Seem like a no brainer, but so many books don’t these days. It did not apply Jesus to a situation, it showed how Jesus responds to whatever situation He was actually faced with. I loved the simplicity of it.
Many ideas from the book stood out to me, and I keep coming back to them over and over.
The Gospel is “Good News” or “news that brings joy”. That phrase is something that I remember chanting over and over again in VBS as a kid. But Keller reminds us of what it really means. The message of Christ is not “Good advice” but Good News. It’s not strategy book. It’s not a Christian living guide. It is good news. News of what is already complete. News of how our lives have already been changed and redeemed if we accept what Jesus has ALREADY done.
Also, that Christ the son of God coming to earth changes everything. When we read it over on pages of a book, it can be easy for us to think of it from the perspective of a story. But Jesus actually walked here on this earth. He got his feet dirty. And then changed the trajectory of our lives completely. He made what was impossible possible. He stormed the gates of Hell and conquered death. He is sitting at the right hand of God and ready to usher those who believe in Him into eternity one day.
So any issue we face, should not be looked at through the eyes only of human logic and plausible outcomes. Christ has come. Anything can happen now.
Lastlly, it described how many times Jesus responded to people differently. This does not illustrate inconsistency. However, Jesus knew intimately each person that came to Him. He knew what they needed and how they would best receive it. He spoke the language of each person with uniqueness, while always maintaining consistency and integrity in Truth. He speaks to each of our hearts directly without ever changing what He says. He speaks truth in love, in a way that each heart will receive it.
This only scratches the surface of the little pieces of wisdom I found in this book. Nothing is a match for scripture itself, but God used this book to expand my view of Christ.
It made me hungry for more scripture. To know more about Jesus. To look at Him and remember why the scriptures about Him are so powerful.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Jesus. Mature followers of Christ, as well as those merely curious, will all be able to read this and walk a away with an understanding of what the Gospels are communicating. And hopefully stand in awe of the Christ depicted there.