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Glorious Run: How Suffering Sets You Free
In this world, one thing is Everybody hurts. Suffering may take the form of tragedy, heartbreak, or addiction. Or it could be something more mundane (but no less real) like resentment, loneliness, or disappointment. But there’s unfortunately no such thing as a painless life. In Glorious Ruin , best-selling author Tullian Tchividjian takes an honest and refreshing look at the reality of suffering, the ways we tie ourselves in knots trying to deal with it, and the comfort of the gospel for those who can’t seem to fix themselves—or others. Now avialable in paperback, this is not so much a book about Why God allows suffering or even How we should approach suffering—it is a book about the tremendously liberating and gloriously counterintuitive truth of a God who suffers with you and for you. It is a book, in other words, about the kind of hope that takes the shape of a cross.
208 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
153 people are currently reading
1474 people want to read
About the author
Tullian Tchividjian
20 books142 followersTchividjian is the grandchild of Reverend Billy Graham & Ruth Bell Graham & the son of Gigi Graham Tchividjian.
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) was the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A Florida native, he is a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham. Tullian was the founding pastor of the former New City Church which merged with Coral Ridge in April of 2009.
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) was the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A Florida native, he is a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham. Tullian was the founding pastor of the former New City Church which merged with Coral Ridge in April of 2009.
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March 25, 2014Our youth Sunday school group went through this book. It's written by the grandson of Billy Graham and senior pastor at Corral Ridge Church in Florida. I wouldn't say that reading it gave me any shattering insight into the value of suffering, but it did enrich my notions about how suffering is perceived by secular culture, and how it's handled by those around us, including well-meaning Christians. In the former case, Tchividjian discusses the "Oprahfication" of suffering and describes why suffering has been glorified as a prerequisite for greatness. The problem with this notion is that sometimes suffering is more insidious and long-lasting than we expect it to be, and that rising like a phoenix from the ashes cannot always be expected. Additionally, suffering is not conveniently set before us like a roadmap to some unknown destination; sometimes suffering just IS. In the second case, Tchividjian compares our thinking on suffering to that of Job's friends and challenges us to think beyond the "Why" of suffering and concentrate on the "Who" of suffering.
These are all messages many of us have heard before, but discussing the book in detail with the youth in our class, and in particular with a leader who is currently facing terminal cancer helped us all to examine how we have approached or grown from suffering in our own lives in more thoughtful ways. I'm grateful to have read the book, but recognize that its main strength was derived from the opportunity it gave us all to weave our own personal stories into its main ideas. But maybe that's the whole point of an effective book!
These are all messages many of us have heard before, but discussing the book in detail with the youth in our class, and in particular with a leader who is currently facing terminal cancer helped us all to examine how we have approached or grown from suffering in our own lives in more thoughtful ways. I'm grateful to have read the book, but recognize that its main strength was derived from the opportunity it gave us all to weave our own personal stories into its main ideas. But maybe that's the whole point of an effective book!
October 2, 2012
Whilst I enjoyed Glorious Ruin, I didn't LOVE it as I thought I would.
Tchividjian focuses a lot on the difference in a theology of glory and that of the cross. Standing in God's arms enveloped by His love while admitting the pain and tragedies that life brings us is the theology of the cross. This was the part of the book that I took most heart from, however the constant mention of minimizing suffering and either "getting over it" or embracing God's grace wore me down.
Tchividjian references the book of Job throughout the book as well a other scripture references making this book a wonderful go-to book for those confused in the path of their grief or despair.
**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Tchividjian focuses a lot on the difference in a theology of glory and that of the cross. Standing in God's arms enveloped by His love while admitting the pain and tragedies that life brings us is the theology of the cross. This was the part of the book that I took most heart from, however the constant mention of minimizing suffering and either "getting over it" or embracing God's grace wore me down.
Tchividjian references the book of Job throughout the book as well a other scripture references making this book a wonderful go-to book for those confused in the path of their grief or despair.
**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
May 30, 2017
This isn't what I expected and I have to admit that it was a difficult book to read. I have chronic respiratory problems and nearly constant pain. Add in insomnia and migraines... and I battle with attitudes about suffering. I'm used to books looking for the bright side, the learning lesson, methods to overcome... this wasn't any of that.
It's a deep and thoughtful book. Sometimes I felt it was somewhat repetitive, but I kept catching myself thinking about things the old way, so that may be necessary to help people think in brand new way. I'm not there yet, but I'm headed that direction.
It's a deep and thoughtful book. Sometimes I felt it was somewhat repetitive, but I kept catching myself thinking about things the old way, so that may be necessary to help people think in brand new way. I'm not there yet, but I'm headed that direction.
July 10, 2019
Excellent treatise on suffering. If you are facing any trials which you do not understand and cannot fix then this book should at least bring you some comfort as it did for me.
October 9, 2012
Title: Glorius Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free
Author: Tullian Tchividjian
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publishing Year: 2012
Pages: 208
My Rating: 5 out of 5 (1 meaning I hated the book, 5 meaning I loved the book)
When I first order this book for review, my main reason for choosing this particular title was because of the name of the author – Tullian Tchividjian. I have to admit, I get swept up into the hype of big name preachers and authors. Yes, it is quite superficial. However, this book’s content is so gospel-rich and intensely encouraging, you won’t care who wrote the book by the time you finish reading it. You will be too busy focusing on Christ to even notice the author’s name…
I was drawn in immediately. I began the book early one morning when I could not sleep. Little did I know that I would not be putting it down till hours later. That is not normal for me…
This book is written for those in the midst of suffering, which means most of us. What sets this book apart from others I’ve read on this topic is the reality it is willing to face – suffering exists. That seems so obvious, yet so many Christians are unwilling to accept it. Instead of admitting the suffering we face, we plaster a fake smile on our faces and try to put a positive spin on everything. What is even worse is that we feel guilty when the hurt doesn’t go away and the happiness act becomes harder to perform. You know what I am talking about, you’ve been there.
Glorious Ruin confronts us with this reality – suffering is a part of life. Even after we are saved, the suffering does not decrease. In fact, our suffering may even increase! Yet instead of instructing us to look for a silver lining, try to find a lesson in the midst of this, or to simply cheer up, Pastor Tullian reminds us that Christ is there with us in the midst of suffering. He’s not at the end of it waiting for us to get through it. He’s not above it looking down at us throwing lightning bolts of trials due to our sinful habits. No, He is the Man of sorrows acquainted with our grief, right there next us shouldering the burden.
At the heart of the issue is a theological divide that is as wide as it is deep. On one side you have what has been termed a theology of glory. “’Theologies of glory’ are approaches to Christianity (and to life) that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or to move past them rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. Theologies of glory acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end—an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to personal improvement, the transformation of human potential.” (page 41).
The focus clearly is on me. I will face suffering because in the end I will be better. This temporary trial will all make me stronger, so I will look for the lesson God is trying to teach me, learn, and then move in victory! Or we simply try to ignore the obvious, grin and bear our way through it, thus showing how strong we really are.
“In the church, one hallmark of a theology of glory is the unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of ongoing sin and suffering and lack of ‘victory’ in Christians.” (page 76) We promote hypocrisy by demanding that everyone be happy and victorious all the time. It’s just not possible this side of heaven. We live in a fallen world. Things are not as they should be. Even our own bodies are effected by the curse of sin.
On the other side there is the theology of the cross. “A theology of the cross accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or use it. It looks directly into pain, and ‘calls a thing what it is’ instead of calling evil good and good evil. It identifies God as ‘hidden in [the] suffering.’” (page 42)
The great blessing that we do have in the midst of our pain is that at the Cross we are met with grace and mercy, not cheap platitudes and get-well-quick schemes. We are met by a Savior – one who came for the sick not the righteous. In our suffering we see layer after layer of self-righteous pride stripped away till all that is left a sinner desperately clinging to the Cross for any hope of justification.
I don’t know about you, but I find encouragement in this thought. As I read through these pages all I could think was – this is a guy who gets it! There’s freedom in admitting that I suffer. There – I said it. I suffer. I am not victorious in every sin I struggle against. I still fight against temptations I know to be sinful even when I force myself to recall the great treasure I have in Christ. I get depressed even when I remind myself of the sovereignty of God. There’s freedom in not having to put on a false veneer of outward happiness and piety that at best is skin deep. I can be who I really am, a sinner in need of God’s grace. I may never know the reason for any of my human suffering or faithless failures beyond this simple purpose. But, I know I have a Savior who knows my pain and suffers along side of me. So, I will continue on in the fight. I’ll get back up after each failure. I’ll continue to repent of sin and once again renew my courage in the Lord to fight another day knowing in the end my Lord will conquer each and every one of those sinful desires, depraved actions and false insecurities that plague my mind. Jesus shall reign! In that glorious day I’ll praise Him all the more knowing that the One who will be crowned the King of King was the same one who fought beside every step of the way in the trenches of my sinful existence.
Well, there is so much more I could write about this book. But, instead, I will let this book speak for itself. I’ll end my review with some quotations that really encouraged and challenged me. I hope they will whet your appetite enough to purchase the book for yourself.
Thankfully, the good news of the gospel is not an exhortation from above to “hang on at all costs,” or “grin and bear it” in the midst of hardship. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you, and in the end, when all is said and done, the power of God will triumph over every pain and loss. – page 24
Certainly we have enough works on the topic already, books that attempt to explain why God allows suffering, presumably in a way that ultimately lets God off the hook. And while much smarter people than me have constructed elaborate systems in this pursuit—the fancy word for such a theory is theodicy—they are by definition exercises in speculation. To know the Why would be to grasp the mind of God, which is something none of us can do. We have enough books tackling the How. How suffering can and will transform our lives, how we can leverage pain and tragedy to make us better people. Results, results, results! Underneath this hopeful veneer, such philosophies tend to fall flat when things don’t go according to plan, when we find out that our power, especially in the face of suffering, is a lot more limited than we thought. Pain would not be pain if we could harness it for personal gain, though the tendency to attempt to do so is a universal one. Thankfully, this is not one of those philosophies either. This is not to say that How and Why are not honest questions. Of course they are! And we will explore a few common attempts to answer them. But How and Why can also be a prison. They can leave us cold and confused, just as they left Job cold and confused when his friends tried to formulate their own tedious answers. Information is seldom enough to heal a wounded heart. The question I would like to emphasize instead—and the only one that will ultimately point us toward the truth—is the Who amid our suffering. Which is fortunate, since it is the only question that God has seen fit to answer, concretely, in the person and work of Jesus Christ. – pages 24-25
“A person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their arms grow back” may be the best description I’ve ever read of what it feels like for a depressed person to try to cheer herself up. – page 54
The gospel frees us to speak honestly about the reality of pain, confident that nothing rides on our ability to cope with or fend off suffering. Before we can even begin to grapple with the frustrations and tragedies of life in this world, we must do away with our faithless morality of payback and reward. We must reacquaint ourselves with the biblical weight of the problem that we less-than-perfect human beings are contending with in the face of a holy and righteous God. We must return to the beginning (and end) of the whole affair: the cross. – page 68
If you have suffered the loss of a family member to chronic disease, if you suffer debilitating seasons of depression, if you lost your job and livelihood, or if you went through a divorce that came out of the blue, know that God is not punishing you. He is not waiting for you to do something. You don’t have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and find a way to conquer the odds, be stronger, or transform yourself into some better version of yourself. The pain you feel (whatever the degree) may be a reminder that things are not as they should be, in which case it is appropriate to mourn the gravity of that brokenness. While God does indeed use the suffering in our lives, He is interested in much more than improvements in your personality or circumstantial happiness; He is interested in saving you. He is more than your Helper; He is your Redeemer. We do not have the primary role in this drama after all; we are the actors, not the directors. Sometimes it requires getting on our knees for us to see the truth. – page 69
Translated into spiritual terms you might say, “I’m having a bad day, but at least I don’t have pancreatic cancer. God has too much on His plate for me to bother Him with my petty concerns. He clearly cares more about starving children than He does about my seasonal depression.” There may be something noble about keeping things in proper perspective, but soon we are dictating to God what He should or shouldn’t care about. And it is a slippery slope! Eventually we’ll edit our prayers along these lines, as though we were giving a political speech, rather than simply speaking with our heavenly Father. If the only things that qualify as suffering in your life are natural disasters or global warfare, you will soon find yourself plastering a smile on your face and nodding overenthusiastically whenever someone asks you how you are doing. – pages 76-77
Grief, of course, is not something that operates according to a specific time frame, and it seems cold to suggest otherwise. Yet when we do not grasp that God is present in pain, we eventually insist on victory or, worse, blame the sufferer for not “getting over it” fast enough. This is more than a failure to extend compassion; it’s an exercise in cruelty. – page 77
When the goal becomes conquering our sin instead of soaking in the conquest of our Savior, we actually begin to shrink spiritually. (page 82)
The tragic irony in all of this is that when we focus so strongly on our need to get better, we actually get worse. We become even more neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with our guilt (instead of God’s grace) makes us increasingly self-centered and morbidly introspective. And what is Original Sin if not a preoccupation with ourselves? What needs to be rooted out and attacked is not immoral behavior; it’s immoral belief—faith in my own moral and spiritual “progress,” rather than in the One who died to atone for my lack of progress. (pages 82-83)
Christians believe that Jesus severed the link between suffering and deserving once for all on Calvary. God put the ledgers away and settled the accounts. But when you and I insist on that all-too-comfortable paradigm of cosmic score keeping, we stop talking about Christianity and in fact adopt a Westernized form of Hinduism. We are talking about karma. If you are a bad person and things are going well for you, it is only a matter of time before karma catches up with you and “you get yours.” If you are good person, the inverse is true: just be patient and your good deeds will come back to you. This is a simplification of the complex Hindu understanding of history as determined by the past lives of others: that we are all stuck in an eternal cycle of suffering perpetuated by reincarnation. (page 100)
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
Author: Tullian Tchividjian
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publishing Year: 2012
Pages: 208
My Rating: 5 out of 5 (1 meaning I hated the book, 5 meaning I loved the book)
When I first order this book for review, my main reason for choosing this particular title was because of the name of the author – Tullian Tchividjian. I have to admit, I get swept up into the hype of big name preachers and authors. Yes, it is quite superficial. However, this book’s content is so gospel-rich and intensely encouraging, you won’t care who wrote the book by the time you finish reading it. You will be too busy focusing on Christ to even notice the author’s name…
I was drawn in immediately. I began the book early one morning when I could not sleep. Little did I know that I would not be putting it down till hours later. That is not normal for me…
This book is written for those in the midst of suffering, which means most of us. What sets this book apart from others I’ve read on this topic is the reality it is willing to face – suffering exists. That seems so obvious, yet so many Christians are unwilling to accept it. Instead of admitting the suffering we face, we plaster a fake smile on our faces and try to put a positive spin on everything. What is even worse is that we feel guilty when the hurt doesn’t go away and the happiness act becomes harder to perform. You know what I am talking about, you’ve been there.
Glorious Ruin confronts us with this reality – suffering is a part of life. Even after we are saved, the suffering does not decrease. In fact, our suffering may even increase! Yet instead of instructing us to look for a silver lining, try to find a lesson in the midst of this, or to simply cheer up, Pastor Tullian reminds us that Christ is there with us in the midst of suffering. He’s not at the end of it waiting for us to get through it. He’s not above it looking down at us throwing lightning bolts of trials due to our sinful habits. No, He is the Man of sorrows acquainted with our grief, right there next us shouldering the burden.
At the heart of the issue is a theological divide that is as wide as it is deep. On one side you have what has been termed a theology of glory. “’Theologies of glory’ are approaches to Christianity (and to life) that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or to move past them rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. Theologies of glory acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end—an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to personal improvement, the transformation of human potential.” (page 41).
The focus clearly is on me. I will face suffering because in the end I will be better. This temporary trial will all make me stronger, so I will look for the lesson God is trying to teach me, learn, and then move in victory! Or we simply try to ignore the obvious, grin and bear our way through it, thus showing how strong we really are.
“In the church, one hallmark of a theology of glory is the unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of ongoing sin and suffering and lack of ‘victory’ in Christians.” (page 76) We promote hypocrisy by demanding that everyone be happy and victorious all the time. It’s just not possible this side of heaven. We live in a fallen world. Things are not as they should be. Even our own bodies are effected by the curse of sin.
On the other side there is the theology of the cross. “A theology of the cross accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or use it. It looks directly into pain, and ‘calls a thing what it is’ instead of calling evil good and good evil. It identifies God as ‘hidden in [the] suffering.’” (page 42)
The great blessing that we do have in the midst of our pain is that at the Cross we are met with grace and mercy, not cheap platitudes and get-well-quick schemes. We are met by a Savior – one who came for the sick not the righteous. In our suffering we see layer after layer of self-righteous pride stripped away till all that is left a sinner desperately clinging to the Cross for any hope of justification.
I don’t know about you, but I find encouragement in this thought. As I read through these pages all I could think was – this is a guy who gets it! There’s freedom in admitting that I suffer. There – I said it. I suffer. I am not victorious in every sin I struggle against. I still fight against temptations I know to be sinful even when I force myself to recall the great treasure I have in Christ. I get depressed even when I remind myself of the sovereignty of God. There’s freedom in not having to put on a false veneer of outward happiness and piety that at best is skin deep. I can be who I really am, a sinner in need of God’s grace. I may never know the reason for any of my human suffering or faithless failures beyond this simple purpose. But, I know I have a Savior who knows my pain and suffers along side of me. So, I will continue on in the fight. I’ll get back up after each failure. I’ll continue to repent of sin and once again renew my courage in the Lord to fight another day knowing in the end my Lord will conquer each and every one of those sinful desires, depraved actions and false insecurities that plague my mind. Jesus shall reign! In that glorious day I’ll praise Him all the more knowing that the One who will be crowned the King of King was the same one who fought beside every step of the way in the trenches of my sinful existence.
Well, there is so much more I could write about this book. But, instead, I will let this book speak for itself. I’ll end my review with some quotations that really encouraged and challenged me. I hope they will whet your appetite enough to purchase the book for yourself.
Thankfully, the good news of the gospel is not an exhortation from above to “hang on at all costs,” or “grin and bear it” in the midst of hardship. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you, and in the end, when all is said and done, the power of God will triumph over every pain and loss. – page 24
Certainly we have enough works on the topic already, books that attempt to explain why God allows suffering, presumably in a way that ultimately lets God off the hook. And while much smarter people than me have constructed elaborate systems in this pursuit—the fancy word for such a theory is theodicy—they are by definition exercises in speculation. To know the Why would be to grasp the mind of God, which is something none of us can do. We have enough books tackling the How. How suffering can and will transform our lives, how we can leverage pain and tragedy to make us better people. Results, results, results! Underneath this hopeful veneer, such philosophies tend to fall flat when things don’t go according to plan, when we find out that our power, especially in the face of suffering, is a lot more limited than we thought. Pain would not be pain if we could harness it for personal gain, though the tendency to attempt to do so is a universal one. Thankfully, this is not one of those philosophies either. This is not to say that How and Why are not honest questions. Of course they are! And we will explore a few common attempts to answer them. But How and Why can also be a prison. They can leave us cold and confused, just as they left Job cold and confused when his friends tried to formulate their own tedious answers. Information is seldom enough to heal a wounded heart. The question I would like to emphasize instead—and the only one that will ultimately point us toward the truth—is the Who amid our suffering. Which is fortunate, since it is the only question that God has seen fit to answer, concretely, in the person and work of Jesus Christ. – pages 24-25
“A person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their arms grow back” may be the best description I’ve ever read of what it feels like for a depressed person to try to cheer herself up. – page 54
The gospel frees us to speak honestly about the reality of pain, confident that nothing rides on our ability to cope with or fend off suffering. Before we can even begin to grapple with the frustrations and tragedies of life in this world, we must do away with our faithless morality of payback and reward. We must reacquaint ourselves with the biblical weight of the problem that we less-than-perfect human beings are contending with in the face of a holy and righteous God. We must return to the beginning (and end) of the whole affair: the cross. – page 68
If you have suffered the loss of a family member to chronic disease, if you suffer debilitating seasons of depression, if you lost your job and livelihood, or if you went through a divorce that came out of the blue, know that God is not punishing you. He is not waiting for you to do something. You don’t have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and find a way to conquer the odds, be stronger, or transform yourself into some better version of yourself. The pain you feel (whatever the degree) may be a reminder that things are not as they should be, in which case it is appropriate to mourn the gravity of that brokenness. While God does indeed use the suffering in our lives, He is interested in much more than improvements in your personality or circumstantial happiness; He is interested in saving you. He is more than your Helper; He is your Redeemer. We do not have the primary role in this drama after all; we are the actors, not the directors. Sometimes it requires getting on our knees for us to see the truth. – page 69
Translated into spiritual terms you might say, “I’m having a bad day, but at least I don’t have pancreatic cancer. God has too much on His plate for me to bother Him with my petty concerns. He clearly cares more about starving children than He does about my seasonal depression.” There may be something noble about keeping things in proper perspective, but soon we are dictating to God what He should or shouldn’t care about. And it is a slippery slope! Eventually we’ll edit our prayers along these lines, as though we were giving a political speech, rather than simply speaking with our heavenly Father. If the only things that qualify as suffering in your life are natural disasters or global warfare, you will soon find yourself plastering a smile on your face and nodding overenthusiastically whenever someone asks you how you are doing. – pages 76-77
Grief, of course, is not something that operates according to a specific time frame, and it seems cold to suggest otherwise. Yet when we do not grasp that God is present in pain, we eventually insist on victory or, worse, blame the sufferer for not “getting over it” fast enough. This is more than a failure to extend compassion; it’s an exercise in cruelty. – page 77
When the goal becomes conquering our sin instead of soaking in the conquest of our Savior, we actually begin to shrink spiritually. (page 82)
The tragic irony in all of this is that when we focus so strongly on our need to get better, we actually get worse. We become even more neurotic and self-absorbed. Preoccupation with our guilt (instead of God’s grace) makes us increasingly self-centered and morbidly introspective. And what is Original Sin if not a preoccupation with ourselves? What needs to be rooted out and attacked is not immoral behavior; it’s immoral belief—faith in my own moral and spiritual “progress,” rather than in the One who died to atone for my lack of progress. (pages 82-83)
Christians believe that Jesus severed the link between suffering and deserving once for all on Calvary. God put the ledgers away and settled the accounts. But when you and I insist on that all-too-comfortable paradigm of cosmic score keeping, we stop talking about Christianity and in fact adopt a Westernized form of Hinduism. We are talking about karma. If you are a bad person and things are going well for you, it is only a matter of time before karma catches up with you and “you get yours.” If you are good person, the inverse is true: just be patient and your good deeds will come back to you. This is a simplification of the complex Hindu understanding of history as determined by the past lives of others: that we are all stuck in an eternal cycle of suffering perpetuated by reincarnation. (page 100)
Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
June 30, 2019
Just finished reading Tullian Tchividjian’s “Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free”. A good read on this ever present subject. Maybe the best quote from the book: “God will use pain in our lives to make us cry ‘uncle’ so that we may cry ‘Father’.”
December 3, 2012
There are a myriad of books that deal with both the theological and practical aspects of human suffering. Suffering is a part of the human experience and all humans are looking for answers and explanations. There are many questions that people ask in the midst of their own suffering and in response to the suffering of others. Why did this happen to me? Why did God allow this to happen? Why didn’t God stop this from happening? Doesn’t God care? There are many what and why questions to ask in the midst of suffering and they are a perfectly normal human response.
Perhaps the question that is the least asked or entertained is the who question. That is, who is with me in this suffering? This is the question Tullian Tchividjian seeks to answer in his most recent book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free published by David C. Cook. Tullian’s main goal is to help Christians to see that in the midst of our suffering and normal stages of question asking, we must never forget that God is there with us in the midst of it all. In the midst of suffering we must remember this basic and profound truth:
"The good news of the gospel is not an exhortation from above to “hang on at all costs,” or “grin and bear it” in the midst of hardship. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you, and in the end, when all is said and done, the power of God will triumph over pain and loss." (p. 24)
While we see in Job that God does not condemn us for asking the other questions, it is only the who question that He answers. Tullian points out that the who question “is the only question God has seen fit to answer, concretely, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.” (p. 25) This is good news! It is in the incarnation that God stepped into the flow of human history that He is guiding in order to write Himself into the story. He dwelt among us in the likeness of our sinful bodies and suffered for us. God suffered for us and among us in the person of Jesus Christ. This is good news! Tullian goes on to explain
"The gospel is not ultimately a defense from suffering and pain; rather, it is the message of God’s rescue through pain. In fact, it allows to drop our defenses, to escape not from pain but from the prison of How and Why to the freedom of Who, We are not responsible for finding the right formula to combat or unlock our suffering. The good news of the gospel does not consist of theological assertions or some elaborate religious how-to manual. The good news if Jesus Himself, the Man of Sorrows, the crucified God who meets us in our grief." (p. 38)
Throughout the book Tullian helps believers grapple with the reality that suffering will happen since we are sinners living in a sin cursed world and are followers of Christ. He encourages Christians to suffer honestly (don’t hide the emotional response to suffering) and to take it seriously (God is working in and through the suffering). He warns against moralizing and minimizing suffering which will take away from the redemptive goals God has for us in Christ through our suffering.
The main message of the book turns on the distinction between a theology of glory and the cross. Essentially, a theology of glory responds to suffering by avoiding the pain. It puts us in the driver’s seat of determining the value or final outlook we have on our suffering. A marriage gone bad is reduced to just a marriage that was never good anyways (p. 42). On the other hand, a theology of the cross highlights the personal involvement of God in our suffering. It points us undeniably to the cross a God’s ultimate involvement in our suffering.
Glorious Ruin accomplishes its goal of turning our attention to the Who amidst our suffering – Jesus Christ. God has brought Himself into our suffering through His death on the cross and has given us a hope beyond present suffering in His resurrection. Through the cross God suffers with us in Christ. This is the good news of the gospel amidst suffering. This is our glorious ruin!
NOTE: I received this book for free from David Cook and was under no obligation to provide a favorable review. The words and thoughts expressed are my own.
Perhaps the question that is the least asked or entertained is the who question. That is, who is with me in this suffering? This is the question Tullian Tchividjian seeks to answer in his most recent book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free published by David C. Cook. Tullian’s main goal is to help Christians to see that in the midst of our suffering and normal stages of question asking, we must never forget that God is there with us in the midst of it all. In the midst of suffering we must remember this basic and profound truth:
"The good news of the gospel is not an exhortation from above to “hang on at all costs,” or “grin and bear it” in the midst of hardship. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you, and in the end, when all is said and done, the power of God will triumph over pain and loss." (p. 24)
While we see in Job that God does not condemn us for asking the other questions, it is only the who question that He answers. Tullian points out that the who question “is the only question God has seen fit to answer, concretely, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.” (p. 25) This is good news! It is in the incarnation that God stepped into the flow of human history that He is guiding in order to write Himself into the story. He dwelt among us in the likeness of our sinful bodies and suffered for us. God suffered for us and among us in the person of Jesus Christ. This is good news! Tullian goes on to explain
"The gospel is not ultimately a defense from suffering and pain; rather, it is the message of God’s rescue through pain. In fact, it allows to drop our defenses, to escape not from pain but from the prison of How and Why to the freedom of Who, We are not responsible for finding the right formula to combat or unlock our suffering. The good news of the gospel does not consist of theological assertions or some elaborate religious how-to manual. The good news if Jesus Himself, the Man of Sorrows, the crucified God who meets us in our grief." (p. 38)
Throughout the book Tullian helps believers grapple with the reality that suffering will happen since we are sinners living in a sin cursed world and are followers of Christ. He encourages Christians to suffer honestly (don’t hide the emotional response to suffering) and to take it seriously (God is working in and through the suffering). He warns against moralizing and minimizing suffering which will take away from the redemptive goals God has for us in Christ through our suffering.
The main message of the book turns on the distinction between a theology of glory and the cross. Essentially, a theology of glory responds to suffering by avoiding the pain. It puts us in the driver’s seat of determining the value or final outlook we have on our suffering. A marriage gone bad is reduced to just a marriage that was never good anyways (p. 42). On the other hand, a theology of the cross highlights the personal involvement of God in our suffering. It points us undeniably to the cross a God’s ultimate involvement in our suffering.
Glorious Ruin accomplishes its goal of turning our attention to the Who amidst our suffering – Jesus Christ. God has brought Himself into our suffering through His death on the cross and has given us a hope beyond present suffering in His resurrection. Through the cross God suffers with us in Christ. This is the good news of the gospel amidst suffering. This is our glorious ruin!
NOTE: I received this book for free from David Cook and was under no obligation to provide a favorable review. The words and thoughts expressed are my own.
January 12, 2016
The theme is suffering, but the comparison Tchividjian makes here is between the theology of the cross and the theology of glory, a significant difference.
To live with the cross of Jesus Christ in mind is to see all of life through His suffering and what it achieves for us. To recognize suffering as something God often uses to conform us to His likeness. While the theology of glory is more about triumph over adversity, the stubborn idea that "the best is yet to come" or suffering as a means to an end, when the end is Jesus and His glory, not our own.
p78 - "Contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not about good people getting better. If anything, it is about bad people coping with their failure to be good. That is to say, Christianity concerns the gospel, which is nothing more or less than the good news that 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (I Tim. 1:15)."
p188 - "Now suppose both death and hell were utterly defeated. Suppose the fight was fixed. Suppose God took you on a crystal ball trip into your future and you saw with indubitable certainty that despite everything--your sin, your smallness, your stupidity--you could have free fro the asking your whole crazy heart's deepest desire: heaven, eternal joy. Would you not return fearless and singing? What can earth do to you if you are guaranteed heaven? To fear the worst earthly loss would be like a millionaire fearing the loss of a penny--less, a scratch on a penny." - Peter Kreeft
p194 - "Thomas Merton once said, 'The truth that many people don't understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt'."
p197 - "As Robert Farrar Capon said so beautifully: 'For Jesus came to raise the dead. He did not come to reward the rewardable, improve the improvable, or correct the correctable; he came simply to be the resurrection and the life of those who will take their stand on a death he can use instead of on a life he cannot'."
To live with the cross of Jesus Christ in mind is to see all of life through His suffering and what it achieves for us. To recognize suffering as something God often uses to conform us to His likeness. While the theology of glory is more about triumph over adversity, the stubborn idea that "the best is yet to come" or suffering as a means to an end, when the end is Jesus and His glory, not our own.
p78 - "Contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not about good people getting better. If anything, it is about bad people coping with their failure to be good. That is to say, Christianity concerns the gospel, which is nothing more or less than the good news that 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners' (I Tim. 1:15)."
p188 - "Now suppose both death and hell were utterly defeated. Suppose the fight was fixed. Suppose God took you on a crystal ball trip into your future and you saw with indubitable certainty that despite everything--your sin, your smallness, your stupidity--you could have free fro the asking your whole crazy heart's deepest desire: heaven, eternal joy. Would you not return fearless and singing? What can earth do to you if you are guaranteed heaven? To fear the worst earthly loss would be like a millionaire fearing the loss of a penny--less, a scratch on a penny." - Peter Kreeft
p194 - "Thomas Merton once said, 'The truth that many people don't understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt'."
p197 - "As Robert Farrar Capon said so beautifully: 'For Jesus came to raise the dead. He did not come to reward the rewardable, improve the improvable, or correct the correctable; he came simply to be the resurrection and the life of those who will take their stand on a death he can use instead of on a life he cannot'."
December 19, 2012
The theme of Glorious Ruin, by Billy Graham’s grandson, Tullian Tchividjian’s is pain, suffering, and God’s grace, where he writes, “Pain is unavoidable…” and no one is exempt. The recent Connecticut heartbreak illustrates a tragic example. Since everyone suffers at some time in their life “…it’s not a question of if but when” suffering occurs. Instead of questioning the “how” and “why” of suffering, Tchividjian’s unique focus is the “Who.”
The book expanded on a sermon series Tullian preached from the book of Job subsequent to his parent’s separation after 41 years of marriage. To his surprise, the taped sermons “…became the most- listened-to sermons…” he’d ever preached.
People worldwide contacted him with personal testimonies of “…how God used the sermons to set them free from bitterness, anger, and despair.” With that encouragement he expanded those sermon transcripts into this book—Glorious Ruin.
The gospel centered book, consists of eight chapters that feature different facets of suffering. From the Reality of Suffering in part one, to Confronting Suffering in part two and Saved by Suffering that closes the book...Full Review: http://tinyurl.com/c86pbgl
August 18, 2017
I came across this book after a friend of mine shared how much he was enjoying reading Tullian Tchividian's writing. I'm so grateful for that, because this book turned out to be on just the topic I was needing to read about.
Tchividjian has taken on such a big, important topic with honesty, grace, and truth. He brings understanding and compassionate faith into the tragedy of human suffering, while also completely demolishing viewpoints that stand in condemnation of suffering people. That means a lot.
To me, this book was both truthful and challenging. I completely loved his concept of not minimizing or moralizing suffering. There were other points that weren't necessarily comforting, but it WAS comforting to hear someone bring a voice of truth into a topic filled with so much uncertainty. I had some mixed feelings while reading the book. My hope felt both crushed and revived, which seems to be exactly the kind of death-to-resurrection point of grace he was making! All in all, I appreciated Tullian's work in this book, and am grateful he wrote it.
Tchividjian has taken on such a big, important topic with honesty, grace, and truth. He brings understanding and compassionate faith into the tragedy of human suffering, while also completely demolishing viewpoints that stand in condemnation of suffering people. That means a lot.
To me, this book was both truthful and challenging. I completely loved his concept of not minimizing or moralizing suffering. There were other points that weren't necessarily comforting, but it WAS comforting to hear someone bring a voice of truth into a topic filled with so much uncertainty. I had some mixed feelings while reading the book. My hope felt both crushed and revived, which seems to be exactly the kind of death-to-resurrection point of grace he was making! All in all, I appreciated Tullian's work in this book, and am grateful he wrote it.
February 25, 2013
I can agree after reading this book I can say "Uncle!" just as well. I am glad suffering was not graded by degree and Tullian doesn't give us an outline of how to suffer like "a good Christian". This got to the heart of it, and it broke my heart as well as gave it more hope. Thanks Pastor!
October 6, 2018
Highly recommend whether you’re walking through a hard time or know someone who is. Truth for the hurting & weary. Great explanation of “theology of glory” versus the “theology of the cross” when suffering.
February 7, 2016
I don't think I have the words to express how much I appreciate this book. Like a cup of cold water on a scorching day it has brought me relief and comfort. I thoroughly recommend it.
July 26, 2014
Good read - Tullian get it right
September 4, 2017
It was okay.
January 17, 2013
I've read several books on the problem of suffering and pain in this world that have really impacted me. I've found that our views on pain and suffering often reveal quite a bit about what we really believe about God. This is one area where the rubber really meets the road when it comes to our faith. Tullian Tchividjian is one of my favorite teachers, and I know he's been through his share of difficulties in life, so I eagerly looked forward to reading his latest book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Makes You Free.
Glorious Ruin is based on a series of sermons Tullian preached from the book of Job following a particularly painful season in his own life. It takes a different approach than the other books I've read on the subject. Rather than probing the why and how behind suffering, Tullian focuses on the Who. He explains that while how and why are important questions, they can also become a prison, leaving us cold and confused just as they did to Job with his friends' misguided expounding.
"Information is seldom enough to heal a wounded heart. The question I would like to emphasize instead-and the only one that will ultimately point us toward the truth-is the Who amid our suffering."
Instead of seeking explanations, Tullian points readers to a theology of the cross, as articulated by Luther, contrasting it with the theology of glory that is so prevalent today. While "theologies of glory" try in various ways to minimize our encounters with difficult and painful things, "a theology of the cross defines life in terms of giving rather than taking, self-sacrifice rather than self-protection, dying rather than killing". It sees God as especially present in suffering.
After focusing on the reality of suffering in Part 1, Part 2 addresses how we confront suffering. We tend to one of two extremes: either moralizing or minimizing. In moralizing, we either try to explain away suffering as being due to some sin or cause in us, or we attempt to leverage our pain for reward, making our suffering just another way to justify ourselves...another form of works-righteousness.
On the other hand, in minimizing, we attempt to reduce the pain by minimizing or downplaying the magnitude of the suffering. The antidote to both of these is, of course, the gospel! Because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we have nothing to prove. We're free to be honest about our suffering and confront it rather than either moralizing or minimizing. This concept is more fully developed in the last section.
Part 3 brings it all together to show how we are actually saved through suffering. As Charles Spurgeon said, "Do not fret over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies." The gospel is for the broken, not those who have it all together. God uses pain to knock down idols in our lives and bring us to the end of ourselves, driving us to Christ.
"Amid our glorious ruin, Jesus is strong, so we're free to be week; Jesus won, so we're free to lose; Jesus was a somebody, so we can be a nobody; Jesus was extraordinary, so we are free to be ordinary, and Jesus succeeded for us, so we are free to fail!
Rather than run from the inevitability of life's tragedies, we are invited to face them, head-on, with hope. We can even begin to call things what they are-rather than what we wish them to be. A theology of the cross might seem brutal and ugly to those coasting through life. But to the compulsive, hurting, sin-sick sufferer, the cross is a beacon of hope and rest like no other. Scratch that-the man hanging on the cross is a beacon of hope and rest like no other."
Glorious Ruin was truly a blessing to read. I could identify with so much of what Tullian said when thinking about the painful seasons in my own life. God truly is present in our suffering in a way that is indescribable! Tullian's treatment of the book of Job is simply phenomenal. He's taken a confusing and sometimes troubling story and made it a comfort for our own circumstances. Most importantly, he uses it to point us to Christ and the Cross. I've just been reading Job again in my personal Bible reading over the last week, and the gospel is simply jumping out at me all over the place now!
Glorious Ruin is a must-read, a strong antidote to both the "health and wealth" and the "self-transformation through suffering" mentalities. I highly recommend it!
Thanks so much to David C. Cook and Netgalley for a review copy of this title. All opinions are solely mine.
Read more: http://www.homewithpurpose.net/2013/0...
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Glorious Ruin is based on a series of sermons Tullian preached from the book of Job following a particularly painful season in his own life. It takes a different approach than the other books I've read on the subject. Rather than probing the why and how behind suffering, Tullian focuses on the Who. He explains that while how and why are important questions, they can also become a prison, leaving us cold and confused just as they did to Job with his friends' misguided expounding.
"Information is seldom enough to heal a wounded heart. The question I would like to emphasize instead-and the only one that will ultimately point us toward the truth-is the Who amid our suffering."
Instead of seeking explanations, Tullian points readers to a theology of the cross, as articulated by Luther, contrasting it with the theology of glory that is so prevalent today. While "theologies of glory" try in various ways to minimize our encounters with difficult and painful things, "a theology of the cross defines life in terms of giving rather than taking, self-sacrifice rather than self-protection, dying rather than killing". It sees God as especially present in suffering.
After focusing on the reality of suffering in Part 1, Part 2 addresses how we confront suffering. We tend to one of two extremes: either moralizing or minimizing. In moralizing, we either try to explain away suffering as being due to some sin or cause in us, or we attempt to leverage our pain for reward, making our suffering just another way to justify ourselves...another form of works-righteousness.
On the other hand, in minimizing, we attempt to reduce the pain by minimizing or downplaying the magnitude of the suffering. The antidote to both of these is, of course, the gospel! Because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we have nothing to prove. We're free to be honest about our suffering and confront it rather than either moralizing or minimizing. This concept is more fully developed in the last section.
Part 3 brings it all together to show how we are actually saved through suffering. As Charles Spurgeon said, "Do not fret over your heavy troubles, for they are the heralds of weighty mercies." The gospel is for the broken, not those who have it all together. God uses pain to knock down idols in our lives and bring us to the end of ourselves, driving us to Christ.
"Amid our glorious ruin, Jesus is strong, so we're free to be week; Jesus won, so we're free to lose; Jesus was a somebody, so we can be a nobody; Jesus was extraordinary, so we are free to be ordinary, and Jesus succeeded for us, so we are free to fail!
Rather than run from the inevitability of life's tragedies, we are invited to face them, head-on, with hope. We can even begin to call things what they are-rather than what we wish them to be. A theology of the cross might seem brutal and ugly to those coasting through life. But to the compulsive, hurting, sin-sick sufferer, the cross is a beacon of hope and rest like no other. Scratch that-the man hanging on the cross is a beacon of hope and rest like no other."
Glorious Ruin was truly a blessing to read. I could identify with so much of what Tullian said when thinking about the painful seasons in my own life. God truly is present in our suffering in a way that is indescribable! Tullian's treatment of the book of Job is simply phenomenal. He's taken a confusing and sometimes troubling story and made it a comfort for our own circumstances. Most importantly, he uses it to point us to Christ and the Cross. I've just been reading Job again in my personal Bible reading over the last week, and the gospel is simply jumping out at me all over the place now!
Glorious Ruin is a must-read, a strong antidote to both the "health and wealth" and the "self-transformation through suffering" mentalities. I highly recommend it!
Thanks so much to David C. Cook and Netgalley for a review copy of this title. All opinions are solely mine.
Read more: http://www.homewithpurpose.net/2013/0...
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
December 10, 2012
A great, well grounded, perspective on how God meets us in suffering, transforming us into His Likeness, drawing our hearts close to His, allowing us to yield to Him as we bear our cross and learn to trust Him rather than our own sufficiency when we are truly powerless to change our own circumstances. Wanted to share a weighty passage unpacking real encouragement when illusions fall:
"We would rather die in dread / Than climb the cross of the moment / And let our illusions die" WH Auden...Luther said that God was not only hidden in suffering, but He was at work... When you are at the end of your rope -when you no longer have hope within yourself - that is when you run to God for mercy. Those who are willing to struggle and despair may in actuality be those among us who best understand the realities of the Christian life...Luther termed this Anfechtung, closely related to the concept angst. God himself must be recognized as the ultimate source of Anfechtung: it is his opus alienum, which is intended to destroy man's self-confidence and complacency, and reduce him to a state of utter despair, in order that he may finally turn to God, devoid of all the obstacles to justification which formerly existed. The believer, recognizing the merciful intention which underlies anfechtung, rejoices in such assaults, seeing in them the means by which God indirectly effects and ensures his salvation. it is for this reason that Luther is able to refer to Anfechtung as a 'delicious despair'. Anfechtung, it must be appreciated is not some form of spiritual growing pains, which will disappear when a mystical puberty is attained, but a perennial and authentic feature of the Christian life. in order for the Christian to progress, he must continually be forced back to the foot of the cross, to begin it all over again (semper a novo incipere) - and this takes place through the continued experience of Anfechtung...We come to the end of ourselves, to our ruin, to our knees, to the place where if we are to find any help or comfort, it must come from somewhere outside of us. Much to our surprise, this is the precise place where the good news of the gospel - that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself - finally makes sense....He was there all along...communicating the same thing He communicated once for all on Calvary"
"We would rather die in dread / Than climb the cross of the moment / And let our illusions die" WH Auden...Luther said that God was not only hidden in suffering, but He was at work... When you are at the end of your rope -when you no longer have hope within yourself - that is when you run to God for mercy. Those who are willing to struggle and despair may in actuality be those among us who best understand the realities of the Christian life...Luther termed this Anfechtung, closely related to the concept angst. God himself must be recognized as the ultimate source of Anfechtung: it is his opus alienum, which is intended to destroy man's self-confidence and complacency, and reduce him to a state of utter despair, in order that he may finally turn to God, devoid of all the obstacles to justification which formerly existed. The believer, recognizing the merciful intention which underlies anfechtung, rejoices in such assaults, seeing in them the means by which God indirectly effects and ensures his salvation. it is for this reason that Luther is able to refer to Anfechtung as a 'delicious despair'. Anfechtung, it must be appreciated is not some form of spiritual growing pains, which will disappear when a mystical puberty is attained, but a perennial and authentic feature of the Christian life. in order for the Christian to progress, he must continually be forced back to the foot of the cross, to begin it all over again (semper a novo incipere) - and this takes place through the continued experience of Anfechtung...We come to the end of ourselves, to our ruin, to our knees, to the place where if we are to find any help or comfort, it must come from somewhere outside of us. Much to our surprise, this is the precise place where the good news of the gospel - that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself - finally makes sense....He was there all along...communicating the same thing He communicated once for all on Calvary"
April 29, 2014
Wow. Just "wow". I've read other books on suffering, but this is the first time that I've wanted to start one of them over again as soon as I had finished it. In part, this is likely because I just really need the message of this book right now. But in another way, since the book is about soaking up the truth of the gospel into our pain-frequented lives, I think it is a message that is always needed, because nothing is more crucial than the gospel taking over our hearts and minds.
Some good quotes:
"If you don't go to your grave confused, you don't go to your grave trusting".
"Christianity is not first and foremost about our behavior, our obedience, our response, and our daily victory over sin. It is first and foremost about Jesus! It is about His person; His substitutionary work; His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return."
"This side of the pearly gates, you and I can be relied upon to forget the goodness of the gospel. Like factories, our hearts, to praraphrase John Calvin, will never cease to produce new idols. Our only hope lies in hearing the crushing word of the Law and the absolving word of the gospel every day. Every minute!"
"Legalism doesn't make people 'better'; it makes them worse. Moralism doesn't produce morality; it produces immorality. We make a terrible mistake when we believe that the answer to poor performance, be it moral, spiritual, or relational, is more law. People get worse, not better, when you lay down the law."
"People minister out of their own suffering, not despite it".
"Fortunately, the good news of the gospel is not an admonition to hang on to God with all your strength and willpower and you’ll be okay. The good news of the gospel is not some gnostic encouragement to view your suffering in the right way, or understand the theology of the cross more deeply. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you. He’s not waiting for you to save yourself or mature into someone who no longer needs Him. He will not let you go, come what may. Jesus will never, ever leave you or forsake you. Nothing you can do or not do can separate you from the love of Christ."
Some good quotes:
"If you don't go to your grave confused, you don't go to your grave trusting".
"Christianity is not first and foremost about our behavior, our obedience, our response, and our daily victory over sin. It is first and foremost about Jesus! It is about His person; His substitutionary work; His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return."
"This side of the pearly gates, you and I can be relied upon to forget the goodness of the gospel. Like factories, our hearts, to praraphrase John Calvin, will never cease to produce new idols. Our only hope lies in hearing the crushing word of the Law and the absolving word of the gospel every day. Every minute!"
"Legalism doesn't make people 'better'; it makes them worse. Moralism doesn't produce morality; it produces immorality. We make a terrible mistake when we believe that the answer to poor performance, be it moral, spiritual, or relational, is more law. People get worse, not better, when you lay down the law."
"People minister out of their own suffering, not despite it".
"Fortunately, the good news of the gospel is not an admonition to hang on to God with all your strength and willpower and you’ll be okay. The good news of the gospel is not some gnostic encouragement to view your suffering in the right way, or understand the theology of the cross more deeply. No, the good news is that God is hanging on to you. He’s not waiting for you to save yourself or mature into someone who no longer needs Him. He will not let you go, come what may. Jesus will never, ever leave you or forsake you. Nothing you can do or not do can separate you from the love of Christ."
February 6, 2013
EVERYONE who is a believer in Jesus Christ and God the Father SHOULD READ THIS BOOK- whether you've suffered terrible tragedies or just suffer through daily annoyances.
Having been living in the midst of tragedy after tragedy for the past 4 years (including the death of our infant son, the death of my dad, the loss of the rest of my biological family - and that was just in the first year when things started "going downhill"; to my husband losing his job after 12 years and several promotions w that company, to his then being hospitalized for six months, and the lay off lasting almost 18 months; to my having to sell off personal property and vehicles, and RV so that I can keep paying the mortgage while our son and I wait for Dad to get out of the hospital and find new work; to my dealing with an unknown and as yet not diagnosed (after 12 mos of various doctors) by several neurologist, while symptoms continue to worsen; to doctors saying "whoops" while attempting to perform a procedure on me- the whoops leaving me unable to walk without the use of a walker, and I'm only 39...) You get the picture.
I have gone through many of the things the author addresses in the book, ways that we Christians encourage each other to "buck up and get over it", and many platitudes and pat answers that ppl say, often well meaning, but which are very hurtful to someone who is already wounded and suffering.
This book was a breath of fresh air to me!! And, it seems like an excellent book for all to read, as all humans suffer, sooner or later, and as likely each of us have encountered others who have suffered or else they will soon cross our paths. What a great way to know how to deal with suffering and the suffering of those around us, especially those we love!
Thank you, Dr. Tchividjian for writing this book!!
Having been living in the midst of tragedy after tragedy for the past 4 years (including the death of our infant son, the death of my dad, the loss of the rest of my biological family - and that was just in the first year when things started "going downhill"; to my husband losing his job after 12 years and several promotions w that company, to his then being hospitalized for six months, and the lay off lasting almost 18 months; to my having to sell off personal property and vehicles, and RV so that I can keep paying the mortgage while our son and I wait for Dad to get out of the hospital and find new work; to my dealing with an unknown and as yet not diagnosed (after 12 mos of various doctors) by several neurologist, while symptoms continue to worsen; to doctors saying "whoops" while attempting to perform a procedure on me- the whoops leaving me unable to walk without the use of a walker, and I'm only 39...) You get the picture.
I have gone through many of the things the author addresses in the book, ways that we Christians encourage each other to "buck up and get over it", and many platitudes and pat answers that ppl say, often well meaning, but which are very hurtful to someone who is already wounded and suffering.
This book was a breath of fresh air to me!! And, it seems like an excellent book for all to read, as all humans suffer, sooner or later, and as likely each of us have encountered others who have suffered or else they will soon cross our paths. What a great way to know how to deal with suffering and the suffering of those around us, especially those we love!
Thank you, Dr. Tchividjian for writing this book!!
March 10, 2014
I've never read anything from Tchividjian before but knowing his background, I anticipated that this book would not only highlight the sovereignty of God but potentially postulate the concept that God actually ordains suffering and evil in our lives. My expectations were exploded not only by the author's helpful perspective but by his avoidance of the philosophical speculation that typifies the discussion of theodicy.
The author highlights the myriad of ways in which we moralize, minimize, and seek answers for suffering.
We moralize suffering by saying things like, "God will redeem this evil and build character in me." That may be true, but our hope is no longer in God but in the formation of our character. Moralizing also takes the form of a karmic means of relating to God. For example, "When I learn this lesson my suffering will stop." Or "if I have enough faith then I won't get sick or suffer."
We also minimize suffering by saying, "At least I'm not starving in Africa..." This isn't helpful or biblical either.
The gospel beckons us to honest acknowledgment of the real pain that marks our existence. We may not get answers for our suffering but we get something better - Jesus, in this life and when his Kingdom comes. "Answers" would actually be a substitute for trust if we were given them.
In short, its the best book I've read this calendar year. Chalk full of Jesus. Relevant to all of us who live in this broken world. Jesus doesn't protect us from pain and suffering in this life, but he is with us in the midst of it.
The author highlights the myriad of ways in which we moralize, minimize, and seek answers for suffering.
We moralize suffering by saying things like, "God will redeem this evil and build character in me." That may be true, but our hope is no longer in God but in the formation of our character. Moralizing also takes the form of a karmic means of relating to God. For example, "When I learn this lesson my suffering will stop." Or "if I have enough faith then I won't get sick or suffer."
We also minimize suffering by saying, "At least I'm not starving in Africa..." This isn't helpful or biblical either.
The gospel beckons us to honest acknowledgment of the real pain that marks our existence. We may not get answers for our suffering but we get something better - Jesus, in this life and when his Kingdom comes. "Answers" would actually be a substitute for trust if we were given them.
In short, its the best book I've read this calendar year. Chalk full of Jesus. Relevant to all of us who live in this broken world. Jesus doesn't protect us from pain and suffering in this life, but he is with us in the midst of it.
October 30, 2013
In pain and suffering, we often make the mistake of dwelling to long on the question "why" and never getting on to the question "who". Christ is the "who" in our suffering. We may never understand the why, but that is far less important than the person of Christ and knowing who are God is to us when we suffer.
That's the basic premise of Tchividjian's new book. A very worthy endeavor, and the book is certainly worth the time. Even if only as an exercise to examine your own misconceptions and bad habits in dealing with suffering, either in your own life or when consoling others. Tchividjian is humorous, relevant and shares many personal stories that will resonate with the "church kid/PK/MK" group.
That being said, he spends 90% of the book on the "wrong" ways we do suffering, and really only gets to the heart of his message in the final chapter and conclusion. The book lacks some cohesiveness of thought, and in a few places you feel it's just repeating itself over and over. Tchividjian is very passionate that we understand how we so often miss God's presence in pain, and he shares some truly inspired thoughts on the poor approaches the church often endorses. Again, it's worth the time (it's a short book after all), but I wish he spent a little longer on the "right" approaches, and on the beauty of complete (sometimes blind) trust in the person of God, which is the answer in our suffering.
That's the basic premise of Tchividjian's new book. A very worthy endeavor, and the book is certainly worth the time. Even if only as an exercise to examine your own misconceptions and bad habits in dealing with suffering, either in your own life or when consoling others. Tchividjian is humorous, relevant and shares many personal stories that will resonate with the "church kid/PK/MK" group.
That being said, he spends 90% of the book on the "wrong" ways we do suffering, and really only gets to the heart of his message in the final chapter and conclusion. The book lacks some cohesiveness of thought, and in a few places you feel it's just repeating itself over and over. Tchividjian is very passionate that we understand how we so often miss God's presence in pain, and he shares some truly inspired thoughts on the poor approaches the church often endorses. Again, it's worth the time (it's a short book after all), but I wish he spent a little longer on the "right" approaches, and on the beauty of complete (sometimes blind) trust in the person of God, which is the answer in our suffering.
October 6, 2012
It's full of theological references and authors mentioned. What is outstanding is the theology of glory vs the theology of the cross. I believe there are simpler ways to explain this. Anyone who didn't study theology like myself, would be a little irritated or aggravated (except that i had an appetite for it having been aggravated and irritated the same by jurisprudence before) by the peppering of it throughout the book while trying to understand what the author is saying. I like the back part of the book better, where he uses his own words to summarise instead of Martin luther's or some other theologian's. There is great and important depth to this book that the general population should know about, but that is unfortunately shrouded is much usage of "theological phrases". Not everyone studies theology. But I honestly hope that it is not only the pastors ( omgosh, you should check out the number of professors, authors, pastors, etc...who raved about the book in the first few pages) who end up reading this book and understanding the author because the message is really meant for a broader scope of people. Anyone who has ever experienced suffering. I liked it but I can't imagine how much of a pain referencing must have been because every chapter is full of it. 4 stars based on content, but I would understand if someone else gave less stars.
October 5, 2013
Who, not why or how.
So many times we approach the subject of suffering asking why suffering occurs or how can suffering positively impact us? Tchividjian suggests that we should really be asking about "who" is behind the suffering. I believe that we can and should explore the theology answers the why and how questions, but I totally agree that focusing on God first (who) will lead to a more solid understanding behind the pain experienced on earth.
The primary example used is Job. We see that Job is asking God why he lost everything. God deftly ignores this question and instead focuses on explaining who He is and how He is in control. (Job 38-40)
Tullian also addresses the fact that Job never receives a direct reason for his suffering aside from the fact that God was in control. The author explains that if Job had known that he would be restored with a double portion there is a possibility that he would have been willing to endure the pain for personal gain. His suffering would been inwardly focused with the a earthly ROI in mind instead of a time where he was forced to seek the face of God.
In other words, if we see suffering as a only a means to become stronger instead of an opportunity to trust God, the suffering process becomes degraded or cheapened.
This book also explores briefly the idea of the God who suffered for us in the form of Christ.
So many times we approach the subject of suffering asking why suffering occurs or how can suffering positively impact us? Tchividjian suggests that we should really be asking about "who" is behind the suffering. I believe that we can and should explore the theology answers the why and how questions, but I totally agree that focusing on God first (who) will lead to a more solid understanding behind the pain experienced on earth.
The primary example used is Job. We see that Job is asking God why he lost everything. God deftly ignores this question and instead focuses on explaining who He is and how He is in control. (Job 38-40)
Tullian also addresses the fact that Job never receives a direct reason for his suffering aside from the fact that God was in control. The author explains that if Job had known that he would be restored with a double portion there is a possibility that he would have been willing to endure the pain for personal gain. His suffering would been inwardly focused with the a earthly ROI in mind instead of a time where he was forced to seek the face of God.
In other words, if we see suffering as a only a means to become stronger instead of an opportunity to trust God, the suffering process becomes degraded or cheapened.
This book also explores briefly the idea of the God who suffered for us in the form of Christ.
March 10, 2015
Good, interesting book that talks to the "purpose" of suffering. I say interesting because it seems like the book is only partly about suffering. In general I would say about half the book is spent talking to the presence of God in life. To be clear this is a very theological book, for instance it spends a good deal of time discussing the difference between the theology of the cross and the theology of grace.
I did enjoy the time Tullian spent touching on the fact that minimizing someones suffering through the pretense of spiritually. I also LOVED that he destroyed the concept that suffering is the result of poor behavior, kharma, or sin. While there were several topics that really connected with me in this book, unfortunately I would say there there are better books both by this author and on this subject.
For a better, and far less theologically technical, book on suffering I would recommend The Problem of Pain.
For a better book by Tullian, I highly recommend Jesus + Nothing = Everything. It was a good book and covered quite a few of the topics he goes over in this book.
I did enjoy the time Tullian spent touching on the fact that minimizing someones suffering through the pretense of spiritually. I also LOVED that he destroyed the concept that suffering is the result of poor behavior, kharma, or sin. While there were several topics that really connected with me in this book, unfortunately I would say there there are better books both by this author and on this subject.
For a better, and far less theologically technical, book on suffering I would recommend The Problem of Pain.
For a better book by Tullian, I highly recommend Jesus + Nothing = Everything. It was a good book and covered quite a few of the topics he goes over in this book.
June 24, 2019
Tchividjian has done a thorough job of giving readers a contemporary book on suffering that thoroughly presents the Theology of the Cross. I was startled to find a book that points readers to the cross (both of Jesus and of Christians) for comfort and hope.
Although the comfort is solid, and his approach is Biblical, Tchividjian has not written a book just for people who suffer. If he had, this book would have been about one third as long. He also answers those who try to find other comforts and explanations for suffering.
In doctrinal writing, it is wise not only to say what is true, but to reject what is false. And so this book goes into detail on what is wrong with the common "Theology of Glory" and modern attempts to minimize suffering by trying to point to some good purpose. For someone like me, who thinks theologically, he made helpful distinctions and laid a foundation for unmistakable presentation of God's will in the cross.
As I read the book, I thought about a suffering friend. Would this help her? I felt it was too much for her at this time. I'd love to have a devotional book on the Theology of the Cross for the suffering child of God.
Other books on this subject are The Theology of the Cross: Reflections on His Cross and Ours by Daniel Deutschlander and Where is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey.
Although the comfort is solid, and his approach is Biblical, Tchividjian has not written a book just for people who suffer. If he had, this book would have been about one third as long. He also answers those who try to find other comforts and explanations for suffering.
In doctrinal writing, it is wise not only to say what is true, but to reject what is false. And so this book goes into detail on what is wrong with the common "Theology of Glory" and modern attempts to minimize suffering by trying to point to some good purpose. For someone like me, who thinks theologically, he made helpful distinctions and laid a foundation for unmistakable presentation of God's will in the cross.
As I read the book, I thought about a suffering friend. Would this help her? I felt it was too much for her at this time. I'd love to have a devotional book on the Theology of the Cross for the suffering child of God.
Other books on this subject are The Theology of the Cross: Reflections on His Cross and Ours by Daniel Deutschlander and Where is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey.
February 13, 2013
I only read a few chapter of this book. Enough to get the gist. I like Tchividjian. I extreme Lutheran approach to everything is actually a helpful counter balance to the Reformed world that I find myself in. I need to hear the radical freeness of grace a lot more. Tchividjian warns in the book against typical tendencies to moralize, instrumentalize, and in all other ways, minimize suffering. Suffering sucks. But God is present with us in the midst of it. And that, according to Tchividjian, is really far more important than what suffering makes us, or the glory that will come on the other side of it. Thus he claims this book is not about the how? or why? of suffering. But rather about the Who? - God Himself.
Tchividjian strongly criticizes the "theology of glory" (instrumentalizing, minimizing, moralizing) that pervades most American Christianity. The point, he says, is not to get past the suffering to the glory, but rather to see God as present with you in the suffering. The irony is that Tullian can't get away from the theology of glory. For the title of the book is...wait for it...Glorious Ruin! And the tag line is..wait for it again...How Suffering Sets you Free. So apparently Tullian is writing about the How? of suffering after all.
Tchividjian strongly criticizes the "theology of glory" (instrumentalizing, minimizing, moralizing) that pervades most American Christianity. The point, he says, is not to get past the suffering to the glory, but rather to see God as present with you in the suffering. The irony is that Tullian can't get away from the theology of glory. For the title of the book is...wait for it...Glorious Ruin! And the tag line is..wait for it again...How Suffering Sets you Free. So apparently Tullian is writing about the How? of suffering after all.
December 23, 2013
The United States Church has much to learn from Tullian Tchividjian's thoughts on suffering. While the book is not as intellectually stimulating as those of Timothy Keller or as artfully written as those of Elisabeth Elliot, Glorious Ruin is an important book. It meets us where we are, confronts our culture's false theologies, and gives hope to the sufferer. He knows how to share a message simply as does his grandfather, Billy Graham, which is important because teachings of suffering need to be accessible to everyone. We all suffer, and we need to know the anchor for our souls in the midst of it. We also need to know how to appropriately respond to the sufferers around us. As someone who has been in the midst of trial for two years, I can tell you not many people respond biblically. The first two parts of the book make excellent points, but the last part of the book is the meat and potatoes. In three chapters, he exposes common idols residing in our heart, including the idol of explanation--the need to know why. He reveals the road to freedom on the path of suffering, which leads us not to understanding or our trite attempts at searching for a silver lining, but to the sovereign Who of our suffering.
November 13, 2013
Oh my! How does one review such a book? Tullian explains that this book started out as a series of sermons he preached on the book of Job following a very painful season in his life. I have listened to those sermons entitled "the Gospel of Suffering". But this book is different. Maybe I was expecting to read the words I had already heard.
The book is concise and saturated with Gospel drenched nuggets that must be slowly and carefully processed so they might be digested. I appreciated the many quotes and references from fellow sufferers.
Tullian tells of a God who meets people in their suffering and that pain might even be one of His primary avenues for reaching people. C.S. Lewis describes pain as God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world"
I know I need rousing and this book helped me see how sleepy I am in my self--absorbed idol worshipping slumber. Pain combined with the knowledge of Who is God in all suffering is causing me to look for my Rescuer and Redeemer. Thank you Tullian!
The book is concise and saturated with Gospel drenched nuggets that must be slowly and carefully processed so they might be digested. I appreciated the many quotes and references from fellow sufferers.
Tullian tells of a God who meets people in their suffering and that pain might even be one of His primary avenues for reaching people. C.S. Lewis describes pain as God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world"
I know I need rousing and this book helped me see how sleepy I am in my self--absorbed idol worshipping slumber. Pain combined with the knowledge of Who is God in all suffering is causing me to look for my Rescuer and Redeemer. Thank you Tullian!
July 21, 2013
The author makes it clear that suffering and storms in life inevitable as a result of sin.
Suffering usually comes when what we treasure most is taken away from us, thus resulting in pain. Be it out health, our wealth our security, our welfare, our loved ones, etc. in a way, suffering reveals the nature of our hearts and in turn the things we have placed immense value in in our lives, so much so that we are threatened when they are taken away from us.
When we come to a point when all is stripped away, we are left admitting our weakness and the need for a Higher Power. The focus must return back to Jesus upon the cross, knowing that He suffered and knows our emotions in the midst of our suffering.
God doesn't promise to take us out of suffering. He promises to walk us through the storm.
Suffering usually comes when what we treasure most is taken away from us, thus resulting in pain. Be it out health, our wealth our security, our welfare, our loved ones, etc. in a way, suffering reveals the nature of our hearts and in turn the things we have placed immense value in in our lives, so much so that we are threatened when they are taken away from us.
When we come to a point when all is stripped away, we are left admitting our weakness and the need for a Higher Power. The focus must return back to Jesus upon the cross, knowing that He suffered and knows our emotions in the midst of our suffering.
God doesn't promise to take us out of suffering. He promises to walk us through the storm.
April 18, 2013
Wow. This is a beautifully written book about the reality of pain in this life and how we deal with it. Tullian is incredibly honest about his own pain and the pain that he has witnessed in the lives of others. He really makes the reader think about pain/suffering in light of the Gospel of Jesus and how we handle those situations with a Savior who knows what it feels like. I am so thankful to have a friend like Jesus who will be with me through it all and will understand. This book was a gift from my dear friends, the Adams, and I can honestly say that it has greatly impacted the way that I view the suffering of others. There is a lot to absorb in this book, and I am already planning to re-read in a year to continue my contemplation on this subject.
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