The Rest of Life: Rest, Play, Eating, Studying, Sex from a Kingdom Perspective by Ben Witherington, III
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a very good book that is best summarized in Witherington’s own words, “We must … live our lives in this age with one eye on the horizon, letting the eschatological light of the Kingdom reflect back on how we view the normal activities of life, and allowing that light to transfigure and transform both the way we think about all these normal activities of life, and the way we act when we carry out these activities” (151).
Witherington has written a great theological survey of topics we typically don’t think theologically about – rest, play, eating, studying, and sex. He offers great insight and a Kingdom perspective to aspects of life one might consider mundane.
I’m not sure this is a book for the average person in the pew. It gets quite technical at times, delving into Hebrew and Greek word usage and long exegetical arguments. This is great fodder for sermon or Bible study material for pastors looking to get their congregations thinking with a Kingdom-oriented theology toward all of life.
We are planning to use The Rest of Life for the basis of an upcoming sermon series.