So . . . I have never done a book review, but I am making an exception here. And this review is for a book with the worst title, Delighting in the Trinity. Now doesn’t that sound boring? But. Oh my goodness.
How does it impact our faith that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit enjoy such happiness together in their love for one another? The ramifications are more far reaching and wonderful than I ever imagined. The author, Michael Reeves, pours out a virtual banquet of the riches, the joy, and the love that we get to enjoy, precisely because God is this fellowship of three.
We worship the God for whom love of the other is central to his being. A single-person god such as Allah can only be bent in on himself as he alone is at the center. The author does a great job pointing out the problems that would arise with a single-person god versus the triune God, and in so doing, provides his readers many aha moments.
Okay, maybe I’ve still not alleviated your fear that the book is as dry as a bowl of cornflakes without milk. Of course, I can’t promise how you will react to it, but it might help to know that the author’s humor and wit do a lot to keep the conversation lively.
If you are concerned about theological rigor, the author is a PhD and theological adviser for the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship in the United Kingdom. For my dear Calvinist friends out there, you’ll find lots of quotes by Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, William Tyndale and even Calvin himself. But perhaps my best chance of piquing your interest is a quote:
What is your Christian life like? What is the shape of your gospel, your faith? In the end, it will all depend on what you think God is like. Who God is drives everything. So what is the human problem? Is it merely that we have strayed from a moral code? Or is it something worse: that we have strayed from him? What is salvation? is it merely that we are brought back as law-abiding citizens? Or is it something better: that we are brought back as beloved children? What is the Christian life about ? Mere behavior? Or something deeper: enjoying God?
If you’re looking for fresh joy and deeper insights into our delightful God, you just might want to give this boring-sounding book a chance.
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