Strangely Bright: Can You Love God and Enjoy This World?
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Learn to Delight in God and in His Good Gifts.
At the heart of the Christian life lies the tension of the single-minded pursuit of the glory of God and the deep enjoyment of the things that God has made. How can Christians enjoy the good things of earth? Whether it’s a delicious meal or a game night with friends, listening to jazz or watching baseball, earthly joys often seem to compete with a deep love for God. Scripture supports both the enjoyment of the Creator and the enjoyment of the creation, revealing that this tension in the Christian life is also found in the Bible. In this accessible book, Joe Rigney displays how Christians can delight in God and enjoy his good gifts.
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- Explores how to enjoy God’s gifts
- Presents the Bible’s teaching on earthly enjoyment
- Provides biblical principles distilled into 7 easy-to-follow chapters
- What the Heavens Declare
- Pleasures in the Garden
- Enjoy God in Everything
- Anchor Points
- Denying Ourselves and Sharing Our Riches
- When the Things of Earth Are Lost
- Treasure in the Field
Top Highlights
“The final category of pleasures from Genesis 1 and 2 is the context for all the other joys. God gives Adam and Eve a mission. He places them in the garden ‘to work it and keep it’ (Gen. 2:15). They are to guard and protect the sacred space of the garden, just as the priests will later guard and protect the sacred space of the temple. But not only are they called to guard sacred space; God calls his image bearers to extend sacred space.” (Page 43)
“Our calling is to enjoy God in everything and everything in God, while knowing deep in our bones that Jesus is better than every earthly good.” (Page 17)
“We seek to enter our daily tasks alive—to God, to the wonders of his world, and to the needs of others.” (Page 70)
“then it’s not enough for us to attend to creation; we must also attend to him” (Page 50)
“That’s what culture is—a mixture of God’s creation and man’s creativity” (Page 32)
Many of us are illiterate when it comes to reading anything other than a book. Joe follows Scripture’s example by teaching us how to read the world, the creation, and the gifts of God under the authority of the word of God. This is an important book and I hope you’ll read it.
—Abigail Dodds, author, (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ
God’s passion for his glory and our ache to be truly happy are not at odds but rather one life-changing pursuit. And so too with God himself and the world he made—not at odds but rather God means for us to enjoy him in everything, and everything in him. It sounds so simple, but in our finitude and fallenness, we are so prone to get tripped up over this. For years, Joe Rigney has handled this dilemma as well as anyone I’m aware of, and now he does it with even more focus and accessibility. I’ve eagerly awaited this short book with its life-changing vision, and I could hardly be more excited that it’s finally here.
—David Mathis, Executive Editor, desiringGod.org; Pastor, Cities Church, Saint Paul, Minnesota; author, Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines
Since Constantine entered Rome in October of AD 312 and ended Christian persecution, the faithful have struggled with their embrace of God and their love for the world. Instead of gladiator games, it’s UFC. Instead of pagan celebrations, it’s Netflix binging and secularized holidays. How can Christians in the twenty-first century enjoy the world without sacrificing their primary obligation to love the Lord? Joe Rigney provides remarkably timely advice on enjoying God’s creation, while still putting God above his creation.
—Erick-Woods Erickson, Editor, The Resurgent
Joe Rigney (PhD, University of Chester) is assistant professor of theology and literature at Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also a pastor at Cities Church and the author of Live Like a Narnian and The Things of Earth. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and three sons.