As I was reading Eric Liddell’s book, The Disciplines of the Christian Life, I kept having the same recurring thought: this is what we need! I didn’t realize it, but I was longing for a short, yet comprehensive “basics for discipleship” manual.
I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with growing numbers of people trusting Jesus for salvation and then being given a jumbled, mis-fire of information about what the Christian life looks like, if given any information at all. Little did I know that this book I was seeking was written over 60 years ago by the gold-medal-winning Olympian and was only published recently. It makes sense that this missing piece of a book would be written by a missionary. I can imagine Liddell ministering in China, leading people to Christ, and then sitting down with them to go through this book. The reason it will work on a practical level is because it has already been field-tested!
I don’t mean to marginalize this book in the least by calling it a “manual.” It is so beautifully written, and all through it is the passion of man who literally gave his life for his faith and those to which God had called him. Many books focused on Christian disciplines seem to flirt with legalism. Not so here. Liddell’s passion for Jesus and a Spirit-led life is far too contagious.
The majority of the book is a twelve-month “devotional” guide that takes the reader through a variety of subjects that Liddell considered to be “the basics.” Admittedly, it is a little weird to listen to an audio recording of a devotional guide. I would love to get my hands on a copy of the print version to really take in the layout. Unfortunately, Amazon and Christianbook.com seem to be having trouble keeping any in stock.
The subjects Liddell has chosen range from the arrangement of the Bible, to the life of Christ, to communion, to the profile of a healthy Christian marriage. He never dwells too long on a subject, but briskly moves through them as if on a 400-meter sprint. These are the distilled basics, and we can go deeper later, he seems to say. This interesting pacing along with the book’s interesting publication history make for a book that is both timely and timeless: rooted in the timeless truths of Scripture and historical Christianity, but seemly written for the fast-paced world of the 21st Century. This book is literally a modern classic.
As you listen, I pray Liddell’s passion for Jesus inspires you as it did me. One last thing, this book is narrated in an arresting Scottish accent, so you can imagine it is being read by Liddell himself. What a great touch!
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.