Well, Tchividjian is excited. He's found something thats worth being excited about... Something that most Christians agree on, but more often than not take for granted: The gospel of Jesus Christ is Everything.Jesus + Nothing = Everything is not an uber-theological examination of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It isn't even a very coherently organised book about a point Tchividjian wants to make... He's got something that he just can't contain, and he more or less blurts it all out for 208 pages. He never slows down. I found that every section in the book was exciting and reinvigorating, but didn't necessarily see the link between sections. Maybe that's overstating things... He expertly navigates hundreds of verses of scripture and uses pointed stories from a multitude of sources. But... he uses them with the excitement level of a thirteen year old girl talking on her cell phone. Tchividjian drives home the utter sufficiency of the gospel over and over and over again, it doesn't get old, and the reader can't help but catch the author's excitement. I'd think I'd recommend reading this like a devotional... maybe a chapter a day. Tchividjian reminds us that the gospel is never stale, never old, never inapplicable. It isn't something we can't file away in out truth banks, but rather something that we must remind ourselves and each other of every day, every hour. Reading his book a chapter a day would be an appropriate way to get in that habit. Tchividjian doesn't use any overarching narrative or framework, but every chapter inspired awe in the total sufficiency of what Christ has done for us. Tullian Tchividjian is an excellent author and in this book he presents a beautiful picture of the gospel and how it needs to function in our lives. Tchividjian opens his book with a testimony of his revelation of the gospel and how truly freed him to live a life in service to God. Over and over again Tullian hits on the point of the freeing power of the gospel throughout his book and expounds upon it's implications.Jesus+Nothing=Everything is an critique of man's proclivity to trust in his own ability to save himself. Tullian unpacks well that the "everything" that we often search for in life is "nothing", but that "everything" can only be found in Jesus. Through this he gives us a beautiful picture of the gospel that stirs our hearts and helps us recognize the foolishness of self-reliance. We gain a big picture of God and a small picture of us, and I finished this book loving the gospel in a new way.Now, this book is nothing new in a long string of gospel books that are currently coming out. Even though this book is well written and holds so many amazing truths, it is merely another book in a list of many. But still I would recommend to pick this up to remind the self-focused heart of the freeing truths of the gospel. Also at times the chapters can become monotonous; Tchividjian hits on the same points several times throughout the book, many chapters could have been shorter.But overall I recommend this book to any person struggling with self-reliance and understanding the truths of the gospel (which is all of us). No harm can be done to anyone to pick this book up and be stirred in the heart to love God deeper and to serve him more devotedly.
What do You think about Jésus + Rien = Tout (French Edition) (2011)?
has some great points and good stories, but very redundant!
—Efleming
