I’ve been working through Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ for a while now. Since I hadn’t really read much in February, I thought I’d finish it real quick to make good on my resolution.
I kind of liked the book
You know some books are so engaging that you get sucked in and barely have enough time to breath between chapters? This wasn’t one of those for me.
Honestly, I don’t remember a lot of it. Stretching a book out over a month or two always leaves me wishing I had finished it faster. There were good chapters and less interesting ones. The Tough Side was one of my favorites. I was surprised at how quick the book went by. Short chapters will do that for you. I really loved the prayers.
The afterword should have been first.
The afterword was so helpful describing Piper’s purpose that I wish he had put it first. The way it framed everything in the (sadly) preceding chapters made it all seem to light up with understanding. But it was such a struggle to make it through! If it had been first, the vision he cast would have drawn me along, instead of leaving me wanting things that weren’t there. And the foreword seemed to be just right for finishing the book. Just swap them.
It’s a good lens.
This book is clearly not a substitute for actually reading about Jesus within the Biblical context. Every chapter reminds you of where all this stuff comes from. It could be described as a lens: helpful for correcting vision and seeing things you didn’t before, but not the object you’re looking at. And it embraces that vision, trying to guide you to appreciate the Jesus of the Bible more on every page. So…
Read this book, then read the Bible.
Actually see and savor Jesus Christ. That’s why Pastor John wrote it.