"On Living Well" (Eugene H. Peterson)

TITLE: On Living Well: Brief Reflections on Wisdom for Walking in the Way of Jesus
AUTHOR: Eugene H. Peterson
PUBLISHER: New York, NY: Waterbrook Multnomah, 2021, (240 pages).

This book is an invitation to live well. Notice life and how people are living it, and learn from it. While ordinary life may seem to be nothing special to most people, learning to notice the meaning in ordinary life can have a special impact. In this never before published collection of reflections and spiritual thoughts from the late Eugene Peterson, we learn of how he manages to draw profound spiritual insights from ordinary life. Just like creation, he manages to focus on the Word as the beginning of all life and laments at how the world treats too casually the dignity of life. Peterson takes us to ponder on the significance of the beginning of the Word without which there is no beginning for any life. He connects birth to our second birth in Christ. Affirming our calling in Christ, we are reminded that spiritual warfare is real and requires believers to be constantly ready to shine for Christ. Yet, he reminds us that Christians are like round holes trying to fit into a square-pegged world. Written like a devotional, the book contains spiritual gems taken from Peterson's two decades of his weekly newsletter he circulated to his Church members at Christ Our King Presbyterian Church. Along with unpublished material from his archives and sermons, the publishers have compiled them into five headings:

1. On Beginnings
2. On Simplicity
3. On Prayers and Praise
4. On Mercies
5. On Glories

There are rich insights pertaining to religion, simple living, ordinary care, thinking/thanking, direction, and anything that can be perceived in ordinary lives. Written in short paragraphs, the chapters read like snippets of wisdom from the desert fathers of old. Peterson's thoughts may not appear like stories of interest but they flow like waters of refreshment from a wise spiritual fountain. For instance, take his perception of prayer as a matter of answering instead of asking, and replying instead of requesting. From the Word, God has already spoken. We need to do the responding instead of persisting in vending machine-like prayers. One of Peterson's favourite topics for reflection is worship. He often joins the act of worship in our everyday living, something he calls "inner coherence." We worship when God's Word is glorified. We worship when we bless others in God's Name. We worship when we gather in the Name of Christ to honour God together. We worship when Truth is proclaimed. Worship is about a hearty response. Wow. That really challenges a believer to live a life of worship seven days a week. 

When I take a step back from the individual chapters and see the five movements of living well, I can see where the compiler of these quotes is coming from. Like moving from Genesis to Revelation, from birth to death to resurrection, the collection of sayings help us realize that whatever the beginning, whatever the end, and whatever that is in-between, there is always God's grace to us in living well. Grace begins with God, that we are able to do good because God is good. For He has made us in His own image. In contrast to a world of performance and the constant struggle for more, living well does not necessarily require us to be frantic achievers. Instead, simple living suffices, as far as living for God is concerned. Peterson reminds us that "the less busy we are, the more free we are to do the essentially Christian acts." How true! In the section on "Prayers and Worship," Peterson reminds us that worship is every day of the week, not just on Sundays. Toward the end, Peterson brings us back to another of his favourite topics: Resurrection. He makes a difference between consumerism and communion, reminding us that the resurrection is the constant rejoinder to heaven. For Christ came to give us of Himself, that all who believe in Him shall have eternal life. 

Those who have read Peterson's books will be happy to have this book on their shelves. For those who have not read Peterson's, this book is very much an appetizer for his other books.

Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, is the beloved author of more than thirty books, including Every Step an Arrival, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, and other spiritual classics such as Run with the Horses and A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Peterson was the founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he and his wife, Jan, served for twenty-nine years. Peterson held the title of professor emeritus of spiritual theology at Regent College, British Columbia, from 1998 until his death in 2018.  

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Waterbrook Multnomah and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.