This may be it folks. It’s the last book I read in 2015, and it may be the best book I read in 2015. The End of Me by Kyle Idleman is an outstanding look at the teaching of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount specifically, and the “inside-out, upside down” way of life it presents.
This book contains many stories of people coming to the end of themselves through brokenness and mourning, helplessness and disqualification. These people come to the end of themselves and find the “Jesus life” they were really looking for and didn’t even realize it. Everything that is shocking about things Jesus said like, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and “But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” is faithfully restored by Idleman.
What makes this book so brilliant is how unassuming Idleman is. He is never expresses a desire to challenge the American dream or stick up for the little guy. He is more subversive than that. He allows the revolutionary message of Jesus speak for itself, and of course the American dream is challenged and the little guys is stuck up for as a result. Nothing is forced on the reader by the author, but I can’t imagine anyone walking away from this book unchallenged.
While I was in the middle of reading this book, I found myself quoting from it and telling people about certain sections. Idleman is the master of the sticky illustration and the apt analogy. He describes profound sorrow and pain with poetically simple prose. This is a well-written and very approachable book.
The End of Me isn’t a commentary on Matthew 5-7, but instead serves the purpose of having the reader take a second look at the teachings of Jesus, realizing how counter-cultural they really are. In short, this this the best book I’ve read on the Sermon on the Mount since Dallas Willard’s The Divine Conspiracy. To top it off, Kirby Heyborne does a great job on the narration. Very highly recommended.
Please Note: This audiobook was gifted as a part of the Christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work. More information can be found about this and other Christian audiobooks at christianaudio.com.