Hello and welcome to ex libris (“from the library”), my monthly roundup of book discussion and recommendations. This work will be better with your contributions, so please feel free to chime in below if you’d like!
The Books That Made Me: An Occasional Series
I’m starting off this series with a book so tiny, it can barely be called a book — “booklet” is more like it. It’s just forty-seven pages. Plus, the font is quite large!
Tim Keller’s The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness is a must-read for any Christian. Keller neatly sums up the problem of people-pleasing and fearing for our reputations. In response, he describes the blessed self-forgetfulness that is ours in the Gospel; we may thereby stop spinning around our own reputations and desires.
The book is based on Paul’s explanation to the Corinthian church in I Corinthians 3:21-4:7, which says in part:
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. (v. 2-4)
Notice the way Paul’s view of himself settles out here: he does not want the Corinthian church to justify him; indeed, he does not even desire to justify himself. He knows that God will judge him — and rather than making him afraid, this makes him secure.
Keller reminds us that in Christianity, we believe that “the verdict comes before the performance,” not the other way around. We do not labor to justify ourselves. Instead, because we have been justified, we are free to labor and rest for the glory of God, in gratitude for a new life.
This shift in perspective can help us relate to the world around us in freedom:
Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself. Not needing to connect things with myself. It is an end to thoughts such as, ‘I’m in this room with these people, does that make me look good? Do I want to be here?’ True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetfulness. The blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings.
I have long struggled with “man-fearing” and this book is a short, rich treatment of this universal problem. Keller unfolds how the Gospel affects our view of ourselves, God, and one another.
This month’s book stack:
He is Not Ashamed by Erik Raymond: Using the metaphor of a family tree, Erik explores how Jesus welcomes all people into his family: the sinful, the shamed, and the weak. Subtitle: “The Staggering Love of Christ for His People.” Encouraging!
The Thrill of Orthodoxy by Trevin Wax: Trevin explores an enlivening return to Christianity’s orthodox roots and story. In response to the adaptive, ever-changing attempts to attract the world to the church, we ought to remember what makes the orthodox Christian faith thrilling to begin with. Of particular note was the chapter on how heresy always narrows, and orthodoxy broadens. “…when people try to expand or broaden orthodoxy to encompass more beliefs and practice — to cover more area — these theological errors do not enlarge Christianity but shrink it by dilution.”
The Problem of Pain by CS Lewis: I hadn’t read this one before; Lewis here tackles the problem of evil and the various ways we understand pain in our world. Typical Lewis brilliance.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: a reread for me; this is our book club selection this month. Having read three of Towles’ books, I will still put this one at the top of the list. A story of loyalty and love focusing on Count Rostov, an aristocrat under house arrest in 1920s Russia. If I were under house arrest, I wouldn’t mind it being at the Hotel Metropol. See the trailer below.
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: I don’t usually have two books by the same author in my book stack unless their names are CS Lewis or Wendell Berry, but here we are. This one started slowly for me but eventually pulled me along. The story changes narrators frequently — an unfolding drama across the US told from multiple perspectives.
Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci: During the Covid shutdown, we enjoyed Stanley’s cocktail posts on his Instagram. He introduced us to the Negroni. He comes from a very Italian family, so this is a memoir — of his parents, his grandparents, and himself — of food; the final chapter recounts his recent battle with oral cancer and, ironically, his inability to eat during that time. I finished this the other night while sipping a glass of wine. Delightful.
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!