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An Early Resurrection: Life in Christ before You Die
Along with Nephi, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ,” but in all our talking and learning, have we learned how to live in Christ? What does a life in Christ look like—or feel like?
In this thought provoking exploration of the writings of the Apostle Paul and Book of Mormon prophets, Adam Miller examines what life in Christ looks like. How can we let ourselves and our own desires die so we can be born again to a new life, a full life in Christ, here and now in this mortal life?
In this thought provoking exploration of the writings of the Apostle Paul and Book of Mormon prophets, Adam Miller examines what life in Christ looks like. How can we let ourselves and our own desires die so we can be born again to a new life, a full life in Christ, here and now in this mortal life?
144 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
April 10, 2024
I’ve always appreciated Miller’s insight about losing the story we’re trying to tell with our lives and taking up God’s story for us. This book is an expansion of that insight in letting our story die and becoming alive in Christ. This book beautifully illustrates how ordinances, obedience to law, scriptures, prayer, etc... are designed to help us become “alive in Christ” - right now, today. It is a guide, or rather points us to the guidance of scripture, ordinances, and law, that can help us live outside of earthly time and enter into eternity and Christ’s resurrection before we die. Our understanding of the very nature of time changes from something that consumes our thoughts and actions (as we use it to hoard prominence, power, and property), into a gift to be used for sharing love with each other and with God. To paraphrase Miller, I put down my burden and take up Christ’s yoke. This burden is the future (being consumed with my future). This yoke is love.
One unresolved issue (and I likely have not read deeply enough). Adam is not dismissive of law but emphasizes the importance of the love as the end of law. I agree with his view. However, I have wondered if there is a danger in adopting a squishy obedience to law, believing that as long as I love my neighbor (potentially leading me to excuse sin), and love God, then I have fulfilled the law. The challenge is in how I define both “love” and “sin.” Can I dismiss church definitions of sin because I believe my view is more loving? I know Adam spends some time on this and in some of his other books, but I’m still unsettled.
One unresolved issue (and I likely have not read deeply enough). Adam is not dismissive of law but emphasizes the importance of the love as the end of law. I agree with his view. However, I have wondered if there is a danger in adopting a squishy obedience to law, believing that as long as I love my neighbor (potentially leading me to excuse sin), and love God, then I have fulfilled the law. The challenge is in how I define both “love” and “sin.” Can I dismiss church definitions of sin because I believe my view is more loving? I know Adam spends some time on this and in some of his other books, but I’m still unsettled.
August 2, 2022
On second reading:
The most important book to Mormon spiritual-intellectual-l worship in the last 10-20 years. Should be required reading.
First reading review:
Like an axe to break the frozen idol-worshipping, future-looking, uncaring sea that is my soul.
Quotes:
Folding my death into the present may or may not help me to get ahead in life. To be fair, life in Christ is not a useful way to live if I’m bent on earning money, looking fabulous, being comfortable, winning prizes, or becoming famous. It’s not a good strategy for capturing idols. In Christ, such things may or may not come. But, either way, they won’t matter. And, either way, I won’t need them. In Christ, I will have the one thing these idols could never give: I’ll be alive right now. And I won’t be alone.
—
This is the question Christ poses to me: Can I stop mortgaging my present with a lust for the future? Can I care for my enemies like God cares for his? Can I live in Christ such that nothing can stop me from seeing—despite all of its weakness, despite all of its glaring flaws, both big and small—the world’s present perfection? This is the test. The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see its perfection? Can I watch the sun’s light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? Can I look at my own life—so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted, so nearsighted—and care for it, perfectly, as Christ does? If it isn’t possible to begin to see such things now, there is no coming future that could save me. If anything can turn my heart back toward the present, it’s this kind of care. If anything can set my resurrection in motion, it’s this kind of care. If anything can break my hard heart and turn it back toward my parents and wife and children, it’s Christ. “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22: 20).
—
The most important book to Mormon spiritual-intellectual-l worship in the last 10-20 years. Should be required reading.
First reading review:
Like an axe to break the frozen idol-worshipping, future-looking, uncaring sea that is my soul.
Quotes:
Folding my death into the present may or may not help me to get ahead in life. To be fair, life in Christ is not a useful way to live if I’m bent on earning money, looking fabulous, being comfortable, winning prizes, or becoming famous. It’s not a good strategy for capturing idols. In Christ, such things may or may not come. But, either way, they won’t matter. And, either way, I won’t need them. In Christ, I will have the one thing these idols could never give: I’ll be alive right now. And I won’t be alone.
—
This is the question Christ poses to me: Can I stop mortgaging my present with a lust for the future? Can I care for my enemies like God cares for his? Can I live in Christ such that nothing can stop me from seeing—despite all of its weakness, despite all of its glaring flaws, both big and small—the world’s present perfection? This is the test. The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see its perfection? Can I watch the sun’s light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? Can I look at my own life—so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted, so nearsighted—and care for it, perfectly, as Christ does? If it isn’t possible to begin to see such things now, there is no coming future that could save me. If anything can turn my heart back toward the present, it’s this kind of care. If anything can set my resurrection in motion, it’s this kind of care. If anything can break my hard heart and turn it back toward my parents and wife and children, it’s Christ. “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22: 20).
—
August 25, 2018
Simple and profound, more in the vein of Letters to a Young Mormon than Miller’s more ambitious and scholastic work in Future Mormon and Rube-Goldberg Machines.
The perfect handbag-sized book for devotion for discreetly devouring during church.
The perfect handbag-sized book for devotion for discreetly devouring during church.
April 3, 2023
Wonderful ideas and beautifully written. Sometimes it felt like a mental workout trying to grasp the concepts - but good to work out the mind every now and then.
August 5, 2022
by the end i was highlighting nearly every paragraph and tabbing basically every page. this book has become scripture for me.
December 30, 2019
Miller raises some interesting questions and succeeded in re-routing my thought approaches to time and covenants, in particular. For instance, although Mormonism doesn't traditionally subscribe to the idea that God is subject to time, at least in the same way mortals are, scripture does imply that God is vulnerable to suffering. But Miller argues that time "is at the heart of this vulnerability" because time is necessary for change, and change is the precursor to loss, which is the cause of most (if not all?) suffering. Thus, Miller concludes that, "Rather than being untouched by time...Christ is divine because he has a particular way of handling time. He handles time with care." Miller's explanation of this solution is less than clear, however. I think it has something to do with being fully present, which sort of fits nicely with the whole abundant life thing Christ promises, but also rung a little too new age mindful trend-ish for me. But there could be something there.
June 11, 2018
Introspective book about how we look at life and death and how we can live as though we have already died if we are living as we would live IN Christ while we live now after baptism.
It was a little too deep for me throughout, but I caught some of the bits of knowledge. I think it's one I'd need to read over and over to really dive all the way into every aspect.
It was a little too deep for me throughout, but I caught some of the bits of knowledge. I think it's one I'd need to read over and over to really dive all the way into every aspect.
April 27, 2021
Wow! I loved this book so much. So few pages, yet so much to ponder. It begins with this quote from Marcus Aurelius: "Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly." That's an excellent description of a Christian life, if you paraphrase it this way: "Think of yourself as dead to the things of the world. When you were baptized, your old self died, and you became alive in Christ. Life in Christ is the way to live it properly." I had to ponder so much: how life in Christ folds time; it brings the future into the present, and we must live in the present -- how the law, commandments, our desires, our goals can be types of Christ; thinking of them in this way allows me to live Christ's way, in the present -- live in the present with care (from the Greek 'caritas' or charity); leave the results of your work in Christ's able hands. All these thoughts bring me peace. I hope I can remember them.
June 1, 2025
Such a beautiful concept to consider. This changed my perspective of what it means to live daily in Christ in the most simple way. Yet, it feels complex because it’s so different than how life is normally viewed. I’ll be honest, some of the concepts were hard to grasp and I’d find myself having to read it out loud slowly to understand but man, I loved it.
“The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see it’s perfection? Can I watch the Sun’s light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? can I look at my own life – – so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted so nearsighted – – and Care, for it, perfectly, as Christ does? If it isn’t possible to begin to see such things now, there is no coming future that could save me.”
“The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see it’s perfection? Can I watch the Sun’s light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? can I look at my own life – – so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted so nearsighted – – and Care, for it, perfectly, as Christ does? If it isn’t possible to begin to see such things now, there is no coming future that could save me.”
May 16, 2025
He's done it again. Incredible stuff I'll be revisiting at some point.
December 29, 2019
Loved this book! It expresses my very thoughts about life and time. More importantly, it helps me to better understand how to combat my issues with time. I always feel like there is never enough time and the time that I do have never gets spent the way I want it to. I loved his gospel perspective on time and I felt it was an answer to prayer, guiding me to a direction I need to go. I also loved how he pointed out that people in the Book of Mormon lived as if Christ had already come. It gave me great motivation to do the same. Reading this book at the “end” of a year and “beginning” of a new year has inspired me to work on living in Christ, living as if he is here already, and living in time.
The wording is hard to understand sometimes and I found myself rereading things to make sure I understood what I had just read, but I love his philosophical view on life and time. His other book, “Letters to a Young Mormon,” is still one of my top ten books, but this one is so far my top 10 for 2020! ;)
The wording is hard to understand sometimes and I found myself rereading things to make sure I understood what I had just read, but I love his philosophical view on life and time. His other book, “Letters to a Young Mormon,” is still one of my top ten books, but this one is so far my top 10 for 2020! ;)
October 31, 2019
Miller enlightens on what having faith, true faith, in Christ means. It means trusting in him, believing that he will save you and then living your life as though he already has. His treatment is philosophically centered around the meaning of time, and how faith, ordinances, and Christ's grace allow us to escape the linearity of time and experience Christ's promised redemption in our present and live our lives as though it has already happened. Paradoxically, only by living this way, by dying as to our futures and becoming alive again in Christ, can we fully be present in the ways that we need to be to be of service to Christ in caring for our fellow man. A paradigm shifting work for Latter-day Saints and anyone trying to fully embrace a Christian life.
December 24, 2022
It took me about a third of this little book to get into it and to understand what Adam Miller was trying to say...and once I did, I did not want to put it down. He is a deep thinker and while I don't fully comprehend all of his thoughts, this book is life-changing! He is proposing that we look at time differently and live our lives in a much more caring and methodical way. To me, the entire theme of his book can be summed up by a quote Miller shared from Marcus Aurelius, "Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what's left and live it properly." A must read and re-read.
February 12, 2022
Adam Miller has placed a book on my very short shelf entitled "read this every year."
I marked up every page. It changed my prayers overnight. I treat my wife and kids and students and everyone differently. It changed my worldview and, by so doing, changed everything.
Could not recommend highly enough.
I marked up every page. It changed my prayers overnight. I treat my wife and kids and students and everyone differently. It changed my worldview and, by so doing, changed everything.
Could not recommend highly enough.
January 21, 2023
I enjoyed this a lot. Miller has a very philosophical way of interpreting gospel (similar to the style of C.S. Lewis) that really resonates with me.
April 22, 2019
Miller argues that resurrection isn't meant only for the next life but to save our "troubled present"s. I found his thoughts on how to live in Christ earth-shatteringly insightful, particularly starting about half way through. I am awed by Miller's understanding and marvel at his faith. This book shares waves of past Millerisms, e.g., abandon your own story for Christ's, love is attention, a la D.F.W., etc., but his focused thesis here hit me in a new way. He pinpoints our heavy burden-- time--, and then offers a ways of escape through reordering. Namely, to live in Christ is to live in the present. To attend to and take care of our presents, to the tasks and people we encounter, whether or not we deem them worthy. To worship either our past or future selves is to distance ourselves from Christ and to be weighed down. I wonder if one can possibly acquire the faith and humility to surrender as he prescribes.
***
"When I desire in the wrong way, I fail to love things for their own sake. I fail to love them for what they actually are. I want them only as a means to satisfying my own hungers and solving my own problems. When I want things in the wrong way, I invest them with an imaginary power to give me something they can't."
"Love is hard because it's a kind of death. To love, I have to be willing to let go of my life and give myself to caring for the lives of others. And then to continually live in love, I have to be willing to die every day, every hour, in ways that are big and small, again and again. I yield on the freeway. I bit my tongue when I want to criticize. I put down what I'm doing and read to my kids. I stay up late and finish the dishes. I get up early and drive my daughter to seminary. I grade the next paper. I put on my running shoes. I exhale. I surrender my life. Crucified with Christ, I practice surrendering all day long until my days are filled with the rest of the Lord."
"Responsibility is an act of love. It recognizes wrongdoing and repents of it. But rather than acting penitent out of fear or shame, it lets those self-centered feelings be crucified with Christ. Then, alive in Christ rather than in myself, I become capable of responding--even to my own weakness--with love."
"What weighs me down and keeps me from entering the rest of the Lord? This burden is, I think, time. This burden is the future, manifest in the present as guilt, fear, stress, lust, envy, and resentment. And the weight fo that future, of a perpetually postponed redemption, is crushing. When I like in bed and close my eyes, I can feel it."
"Love, rather than living time as a means to an end, lives time as an end in itself... In Christ, I learn to love life for its own sake... In Christ, the future is given as though it had already come. There's no reason to rush. There's no reason to fear. There's no reason to feel ashamed. There's no cause for brushing other people aside as I hurry someplace else. There's room in the present for each thing to have its season. There's room for agency and creativity. There's room for Spirit. There's space to breathe. There's time for love."
"When I repent, I turn around... I stop looking through things and, instead, I start to see them. And this power to be sensitive and respond--this power to be responsible--is the key to repentance. It's the key to being alive."
"The temptation is to think I could do this alone. Or that I could live this resurrection just with Christ, just the two of us. But the body of Christ is not one, or even two. The body of Christ is many."
"Time, like life, can't be kept. It can only be given. I give it by paying attention. I waste it by being distracted."
***
"When I desire in the wrong way, I fail to love things for their own sake. I fail to love them for what they actually are. I want them only as a means to satisfying my own hungers and solving my own problems. When I want things in the wrong way, I invest them with an imaginary power to give me something they can't."
"Love is hard because it's a kind of death. To love, I have to be willing to let go of my life and give myself to caring for the lives of others. And then to continually live in love, I have to be willing to die every day, every hour, in ways that are big and small, again and again. I yield on the freeway. I bit my tongue when I want to criticize. I put down what I'm doing and read to my kids. I stay up late and finish the dishes. I get up early and drive my daughter to seminary. I grade the next paper. I put on my running shoes. I exhale. I surrender my life. Crucified with Christ, I practice surrendering all day long until my days are filled with the rest of the Lord."
"Responsibility is an act of love. It recognizes wrongdoing and repents of it. But rather than acting penitent out of fear or shame, it lets those self-centered feelings be crucified with Christ. Then, alive in Christ rather than in myself, I become capable of responding--even to my own weakness--with love."
"What weighs me down and keeps me from entering the rest of the Lord? This burden is, I think, time. This burden is the future, manifest in the present as guilt, fear, stress, lust, envy, and resentment. And the weight fo that future, of a perpetually postponed redemption, is crushing. When I like in bed and close my eyes, I can feel it."
"Love, rather than living time as a means to an end, lives time as an end in itself... In Christ, I learn to love life for its own sake... In Christ, the future is given as though it had already come. There's no reason to rush. There's no reason to fear. There's no reason to feel ashamed. There's no cause for brushing other people aside as I hurry someplace else. There's room in the present for each thing to have its season. There's room for agency and creativity. There's room for Spirit. There's space to breathe. There's time for love."
"When I repent, I turn around... I stop looking through things and, instead, I start to see them. And this power to be sensitive and respond--this power to be responsible--is the key to repentance. It's the key to being alive."
"The temptation is to think I could do this alone. Or that I could live this resurrection just with Christ, just the two of us. But the body of Christ is not one, or even two. The body of Christ is many."
"Time, like life, can't be kept. It can only be given. I give it by paying attention. I waste it by being distracted."
May 23, 2020
I easily could have read this in a few days, but that would seem far too quick to really internalize the truths found in this book. On the one hand, they’re all basic things I’ve known and understood all my life, but on the other hand he explains them in such a profound (yet somehow simple) way that I really needed to just sit and ponder each chapter and go back and re-read again. This is a book I’ll keep with my scriptures and refer back to often as I strive to have a “life in Christ” not just after I die but right now, every day, as I choose how to use my time.
There are so many good quotes, but I’ll just share a few thoughts from one of the last chapters titled very pointedly, “Think of Yourself as Dead”:
“The only way to rob death of its power is to willingly die...The only way to save myself from the future’s tyranny is to willingly sacrifice that future on God’s altar. I have to give the future away. I have to let it go...In Christ, I’m dead. Whatever future remains is not mine, it’s his. Whatever life is left to me is not mine, it’s his. My talents? His. My money? His. My life? His. Everything he’s given me? His. Even my time? Yes, please, my time... In the end, the only thing I have to give is my time. If I cling to it, time will ruin me. If I think of my time as my own, then every unchosen obligation will feel like theft...The only way to be saved from this ruin is to return this time to Christ. The only way to care for time is to give it away...This is the world’s oldest story: I have to die in order to live. I have to give my life away in order to find it.”
There are so many good quotes, but I’ll just share a few thoughts from one of the last chapters titled very pointedly, “Think of Yourself as Dead”:
“The only way to rob death of its power is to willingly die...The only way to save myself from the future’s tyranny is to willingly sacrifice that future on God’s altar. I have to give the future away. I have to let it go...In Christ, I’m dead. Whatever future remains is not mine, it’s his. Whatever life is left to me is not mine, it’s his. My talents? His. My money? His. My life? His. Everything he’s given me? His. Even my time? Yes, please, my time... In the end, the only thing I have to give is my time. If I cling to it, time will ruin me. If I think of my time as my own, then every unchosen obligation will feel like theft...The only way to be saved from this ruin is to return this time to Christ. The only way to care for time is to give it away...This is the world’s oldest story: I have to die in order to live. I have to give my life away in order to find it.”
September 17, 2022
This is maybe a 2.5. There were some great ideas here, but I wanted a lot more thorough follow through. The basic premise is pretty interesting, but chapter after chapter, instead of building on and digging into the nuances of this “early resurrection,” we just end up in popular new age buddhist stuff like living in the present. It’s kind of a let down.
BUT, there really are some interesting jumping off points. For instance, he develops this idea of how Christ relates to time and while his syllogism for it is pretty unsatisfying, it opens the door on some interesting implications depending on HOW he’s related to time and what it does to him and our relationship with him.
So, I like the premise, but the execution could use more confidence. It felt like a beginning swimmer who always makes their way to the edge of the pool rather than exploring the depths and really being able to see what’s there.
BUT, there really are some interesting jumping off points. For instance, he develops this idea of how Christ relates to time and while his syllogism for it is pretty unsatisfying, it opens the door on some interesting implications depending on HOW he’s related to time and what it does to him and our relationship with him.
So, I like the premise, but the execution could use more confidence. It felt like a beginning swimmer who always makes their way to the edge of the pool rather than exploring the depths and really being able to see what’s there.
October 22, 2023
I appreciate Adam Miller's ability to express abstract things so succinctly.
There is so much more to a life in Christ than the do's and the don'ts and the should's and shouldn'ts. But often we are caught up in believing that's what religion is. In my opinion, Religion aids and points to spirituality in Christ, but should never replace it.
This book tears away such misconceptions and reminds us: religion is for the here, and now--today, this moment. It's about losing ourselves to a higher, deeper, holier way of living--and building momentum in that direction. Giving my past to Christ, my future to Christ, and my present to Christ--that is when you find peace in Christ. "Not as the world giveth give I unto you." The name "an early resurrection" is truly appropriate--Christ gives us a new life, in the now, as soon as we can learn to actually give our past, present, and future to Him. We become new creatures.
I am so grateful for life in Jesus. And for people like Adam Miller who can help me grasp what experiencing Jesus really is.
There is so much more to a life in Christ than the do's and the don'ts and the should's and shouldn'ts. But often we are caught up in believing that's what religion is. In my opinion, Religion aids and points to spirituality in Christ, but should never replace it.
This book tears away such misconceptions and reminds us: religion is for the here, and now--today, this moment. It's about losing ourselves to a higher, deeper, holier way of living--and building momentum in that direction. Giving my past to Christ, my future to Christ, and my present to Christ--that is when you find peace in Christ. "Not as the world giveth give I unto you." The name "an early resurrection" is truly appropriate--Christ gives us a new life, in the now, as soon as we can learn to actually give our past, present, and future to Him. We become new creatures.
I am so grateful for life in Jesus. And for people like Adam Miller who can help me grasp what experiencing Jesus really is.
April 9, 2019
I’m going to have to read this one again. It is quite short, but enormously profound.
I sense that the LDS vocabulary doesn’t know what to do with the term “alive in Christ” outside of the context of a scripture passage. Adam Miller seeks to help out with that. And he does it remarkably well.
The first theme is that of time, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ has the effect of folding time, or at least creating various types of discontinuities that reframe our present. And in the present, with past and future accessible to our hearts, we are able to “die” early, and “live” in Christ as if, as the Book of Mormon states, “as though he already was” (Jarom 1:11)
The imminent yet elusive aspect of a life in Christ is described in C.S. Lewis terms: we stumble around, trying to find something, searching, riffling, digging, and end up empty handed. We find nothing. We wander in disappointment. “And in despair I bowed my head "There is no peace on Earth, " I said.” Then somehow, we realize that the gift is the light itself. The light by which everything is seen. Once that is grasped, rather than finding nothing, in the light, we find everything.
There is so much more to ponder and consider. I need to read it again and discuss it with someone. In a season where religious discourse is saturated with imperatives and platitudes, this book cuts to the quick and jolts the reader awake to the staggering immensity of the implications surrounding the realities of a life in Christ.
I sense that the LDS vocabulary doesn’t know what to do with the term “alive in Christ” outside of the context of a scripture passage. Adam Miller seeks to help out with that. And he does it remarkably well.
The first theme is that of time, and how the gospel of Jesus Christ has the effect of folding time, or at least creating various types of discontinuities that reframe our present. And in the present, with past and future accessible to our hearts, we are able to “die” early, and “live” in Christ as if, as the Book of Mormon states, “as though he already was” (Jarom 1:11)
The imminent yet elusive aspect of a life in Christ is described in C.S. Lewis terms: we stumble around, trying to find something, searching, riffling, digging, and end up empty handed. We find nothing. We wander in disappointment. “And in despair I bowed my head "There is no peace on Earth, " I said.” Then somehow, we realize that the gift is the light itself. The light by which everything is seen. Once that is grasped, rather than finding nothing, in the light, we find everything.
There is so much more to ponder and consider. I need to read it again and discuss it with someone. In a season where religious discourse is saturated with imperatives and platitudes, this book cuts to the quick and jolts the reader awake to the staggering immensity of the implications surrounding the realities of a life in Christ.
July 17, 2022
Turning time on its head
What Ana amazing and thought provoking read. As I think about being born again, I think about making change but Adam takes it a big leap forward by talking about how we die as to our old selves, our old ways, and old concerns and rise anew in Christ letting His kingdom be within us today! It is through Christ that we live in every aspect of our lives. I appreciate the devoted and faith increasing paradigm shift that Adam has provided here.
What Ana amazing and thought provoking read. As I think about being born again, I think about making change but Adam takes it a big leap forward by talking about how we die as to our old selves, our old ways, and old concerns and rise anew in Christ letting His kingdom be within us today! It is through Christ that we live in every aspect of our lives. I appreciate the devoted and faith increasing paradigm shift that Adam has provided here.
November 6, 2019
One of the best books I have ever read. It was so nice to get to read it with my brother who is struggling with ALS. We were able to have some very deep conversations about the concepts discussed in this book, something we both needed. Like many of the deep and profound books I have read by authors who are trying to be more righteous, it makes me want to be closer to my Savior.
March 20, 2021
"I've spent a lot of time trying not to be weak....But I am tired-so tired-of pretending not to be weak."
Learning to live has taken me through Terryl Givens, Mary Oliver, Marilynne Robinson, and I can't help but feel it's culminating here with this book. (4/5)
Learning to live has taken me through Terryl Givens, Mary Oliver, Marilynne Robinson, and I can't help but feel it's culminating here with this book. (4/5)
May 15, 2024
This has been my nightstand read for the past month. It's short, and the chapters are short, but the sized belies the depth and meat of this little book. I liked it a lot, and it deserves deeper consideration than I have given it. I feel like I almost get it. The time-folding part is so interesting. 'Though the philosophical part may be just beyond me, I took away that I can live a better and truer life in Christ and that it's definitely possible to enjoy the resurrection and atonement in the here and now. It's not just some future nicety.
October 8, 2024
“This is what life boils down to. This is what it means to love someone: their obvious weakness cannot stop me from seeing their present perfection.”
Adam Miller’s meditations on Life lived through Jesus are very touching and insightful. At times, a little tedious, but also at times, life-affirming.
There is a kind of C.S. Lewis-ness to his approach to Christian discipleship, which is very familiar and intensive. But filled with passion.
I give this book 4 stars, not 5, only because he spends the last three chapters spelling out in beautiful clear details how to approach life, and I only wish he would’ve gotten there sooner.
“This is the test. The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see its perfection? Can I watch the sun's light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? Can I look at my own life-so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted, so nearsighted—and care for it, perfectly, as Christ does?”
Adam Miller’s meditations on Life lived through Jesus are very touching and insightful. At times, a little tedious, but also at times, life-affirming.
There is a kind of C.S. Lewis-ness to his approach to Christian discipleship, which is very familiar and intensive. But filled with passion.
I give this book 4 stars, not 5, only because he spends the last three chapters spelling out in beautiful clear details how to approach life, and I only wish he would’ve gotten there sooner.
“This is the test. The test is simple: can I look at my son, weak and stubborn and gangly, and see his perfection? Can I look at a leaf, weak and browning and chewed on, and see its perfection? Can I watch the sun's light fail at the end of a hard day and see its perfection? Can I look at my own life-so fraught, so weak, so faltering, so inadequate, so distracted, so nearsighted—and care for it, perfectly, as Christ does?”
June 13, 2018
I listened to the audio version so that definitely affects the experience someone has with a book like this based on philosophical approaches to the gospel and consistent contemplation. Miller has some great insights about applying the concept of time to a variety of gospel topics. At the end of the day it is simply an interpretation of scripture. So I feel it is simply another perspective, nothing more or less. Adds some things to think about, doesn't necessarily change how someone lives unless they agree. The book doesn't lend itself to discovering things for yourself, but more just following along and choosing whether you accept it or not.
January 25, 2020
Rich with meaty discussion topics.
Will update with full review later.
Will update with full review later.
June 14, 2021
Every line is stunning. One of my favorite books I’ve ever read. His fusion of Christianity with mindfulness is perfect.
April 3, 2024
Beautiful.
August 3, 2022
This book created a paradigm shift for me. It truly made life look different. I loved the short, concise chapters that made such deep material digestible and personable. I can't recommend this enough.
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