DYING TO LIVE
By Clive Calver
Authentic Media. 154 pages
ISBN 978-1-934068-80-9
At one time, Clive Calver reveals, he had a dog called Tozer (p.90). That fact, plus the frequent references to Tozer, tells you most of what you need to know about the strengths and weaknesses of this thought-provoking volume.
The strengths are the Tozer-like call to live sacrificially for Christ, the strong rejection of any form of ‘me-centred’ or superficial Christianity, and the clear call to a life of complete surrender to the will of God, whatever the cost. The reader cannot fail to be moved by these repeated challenges, and the many inspiring stories of individuals who have learned, often the hard way, to live out these ideals.
The weakness of the book (in this reviewer’s opinon!) lies in its basic theology of the Christian life. Calver wholeheartedly embraces the older ‘surrendered life’ approach that sees the key to spiritual progress as a giving up of any personal effort, and simply letting Jesus live through us. As he expresses it: ‘The true secret of Christianity is not a changed life but an exchanged life, as we stop trying to live for God and allow him to live through us’ (p.80). Calver never quite says, ‘let go and let God’, but that is what much of this book amounts to. That, together with the frequent Arminian-sounding assumptions regarding ‘giving God permission’ or ‘allowing God’ (and was Jacob really chosen because ‘the Lord recognised the potential within him to become... more effective in the kingdom of God’??) (p.24), make this book less than satisfying to any Christian from a more Reformed background.
In summary, this is a challenging read for anyone serious about living life more devotedly for Christ. However, for the same challenge, but built on a more reliable theological foundation a reader will perhaps find more benefit from Piper’s Don’t waste your life or Mahaney’s Living the Cross-centred life.
