Finished salvation?

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30 Challenges to Be, Say and Do Life the
Jesus Way
By Krish Kandiah
Monarch/Elevation/Spring Harvest
192 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 0 857 214 416

Krish Kandiah works for the Evangelical Alliance as Executive Director of Missions and England. He is on the staff of London School of Theology, a regular speaker at university missions, also (as readers of the June issue of EN may remember) a dedicated father to foster children. In addition to all this, he has published many books (I counted 13 since 2006). This most recent book is based on a series of talks given at Spring Harvest.

The question the book sets out to answer is this: given that none of us is the Son of God, in what ways should we aim to be like Jesus? Speak like Jesus? Do the things He did? Sections are three or four pages long, beginning with a ‘real-life dilemma’ of some kind, then some thoughts on a New Testament passage, returning to the dilemma, ending with suggestions for further thought. The approach is light, friendly, low-key.

Be friendly and natural

The section titles give a flavour of the book: ‘Be Unshakeable’ (finish the Christian race); ‘Be Available’ (don’t be socially withdrawn); ‘Say it Audibly’ (pace St. Francis, words are always necessary); ‘Say it H o p e f u l l y ’ (always give praise where you can); ‘Do Small’ (ordinary people matter); ‘Do Touch’ (be prepared for physical contact, may include hugging). The gist of the message seemed to be: make sure to be friendly to other people and talk about your faith in a natural way.

My question: whatever happened to Christianity as done not do, the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve? If you need a book to prod you to become a kinder and more thoughtful person, this may hit the spot. If you need a clearer view of your Saviour and his grace, look elsewhere.

You can get more details, and some further suggestions for spiritual growth, from Krish’s blog: http://www.krishk.com/2013/ 04/40-ways-you-can-get-back-be-say-and-do-like-jesus/