Sofa Spotlight - Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson

This is a second read for me and once again I was struck by how relevant this book is. And particularly now I think that this book has a lot to say to us during this pandemic.

Eugene Peterson takes us through parts of the book of Jeremiah, giving us a feel for the time and place he lived. I found it very easy to picture what life would have been like for Jeremiah. Peterson is a great story teller and knows how to bring the pages of the Bible to life. But what he drew out from Jeremiah’s story was his faithfulness and the depth of Jeremiah’s relationship with God.

This isn’t a commentary on the book of Jeremiah, but it does lend many insights into the book. I feel like I need to read it again straight away to gather what I missed the first time round. There are many striking similarities between Jeremiah’s world and our own and the challenge to be faithful is always with us as it was for Jeremiah. Having said that, Jeremiah had to contend with a lot and then he ended up dying in Egypt. But it is an example of faithfulness without seeing the results in this life.

Sofa Spotlight - The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky

I love reading Russian literature. So, I knew that I would enjoy reading this one. What I love so much is how it gets you thinking and questioning your values and attitudes. Not surprising then that I had a great experience with this book.

The Idiot is about Prince Myshkin, who has epilepsy and has suffered an emotional and mental breakdown in his past. The Prince is a really likeable character, but his goodness is thought to be naïve and he is often taken advantage of. I’m still working out what I think of him and his actions but there are many things that this book makes you think about.

One of them is that because the Prince is fairly open about his illness sometimes people think that it is ok to call him an idiot and say harsh things in his hearing because they think he doesn’t understand. It becomes clear that he does understand and doesn’t appreciate this. But also, it got me to thinking that even if someone doesn’t understand what is said, or doesn’t appear to understand, that doesn’t give permission for cruel things to be said.

There’s so much that could be said about this book and much to ponder. Give it a read and see if you agree.

Sofa Spotlight - Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortland

I read this because it had been recommended to me a few times – and I can see why it was recommended. The book looks at what is the heart of Christ and delves deep into what the means for us as Christians today.

When I was reading this, I was astounded because this book could have been written for me. The stuff it covers is things where I thought I must be the only one who felt like that but turns out there are lots of people! If you’ve ever thought that you are a Christian because God has to let you and He disapproves or is disappointed with you then this is the book for you.

It is beautifully written, and although it’s not the longest of books it is one that you will want to spend a long time in. There is so much to consider and truths that need time to really sink into your soul.

If you read no other book this year let it be this one. You won’t regret it.

Sofa Spotlight - Finding the Right Hills to Die on, Gavin Ortland

I think this is a great title and I was certainly intrigued to find out what was meant by theological triage. In I jumped and thoroughly enjoyed the journey that I took. The book is all about assessing our own theological viewpoints and determining which ones are the ones that we need to guard and which ones don’t need to be fought over.

What I found to be really excellent about this book was the humility of the author. At no point does he try to tell the reader what they should thing about doctrine or which doctrines to hold as most important. What he does instead is to explain the value of different doctrines and how we can decide what is important and what is not worth falling out over.

There were many highlights for me through this book, but one was the immense damage that Christians have done to one another over disagreements on theology. It showed why it’s important to keep things in perspective and work towards unity.

Brilliant book, well worth reading.