One Way Love [Book Review & Giveaway]

*And the winner is Erika B.! Congrats, Erika. Be looking for an e-mail from me letting you know what I need in order to get your copy of One Way Love mailed to you.*

Oh, am I so excited about this book review and giveaway! This book was really good. So good, in fact, I want to read it again. I want to take time to really soak up this breath of fresh air on Grace vs. Law. Because, in my opinion, that is exactly what Tullian Tchividjian discusses throught the entirety of One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World.

Because of some different situations in my life and because we have a wonderful pastoral head at our church and because I married an awesome, philosophically driven guy, I've had several great conversations about Grace. I asked if I could read excerpts to my husband because I wanted to share what I had just read, as well as discuss it a little. I've had the chance to discuss grace with one of the pastors at our church, who I happened to run into in the middle of one of my groups at the church. Needless to say, this book is a great conversation starter. It definitely will get your mind reeling, in a good way, I believe.

In the introduction, Tchividjian says, "What you will encounter [in this book] is 'grace unmeasured, vast and free' - the kind that will frighten and free you at the same time. That's what grace does, after all." (p. 25) And indeed, he is fully telling the truth. I still struggle with what he says, yet I know my heart struggles out of the fear grace drives into our hearts. I think this is partially why I want to reread the book: while my heart wants to 100% say yes to grace, part of me wonders if maybe I read it wrong, maybe I didn't get the entire picture or misunderstood him.

Yet, this is exactly the struggle everyone has with grace, according to Tchividjian. The first chapter begins with him discussing how we live in a world filled with and run by conditions: "you do this for me, I do this for you" and the many other forms the condition can take. Nothing is free; almost everything has some kind of string attached.

He then navigates the dangerous waters of steering us back towards Grace with scriptural backing, quotes from other solid believers, and personal stories. He talks about his own struggle with truly, fully embracing grace as God has meant it. (Yes, he also mentions how even the grace we fallen, broken human beings show is only a shadow of the grace God continually bestows on us.) At one point he says, "Grace is radically unbalanced. It contains no but: it is unconditional, uncontrollable, unpredictable, and undomesticated - or else it is not grace." (p. 180)

I still read that last quote nodding my head in agreement, yet wondering can it really be? Oh man! It has shed a light on my heart with what I have been taught, learned, and missed all in one fell swoop: taught - by those who struggle themselves to fully accept the true meaning of God's grace, learned - as I have read the scriptures and sought to understand what God is trying to teach me through His word, and missed - the scriptures I have either observed and interpreted incorrectly or completely been blind to their meaning altogether. You guys, this book...so, so worth. it!

I'll leave you with one last quote from it, before I put up the Rafflecopter for your own chance to win a copy(!) - Tchividjian quotes Ralph Erskine's Gospel Sonnets (I'll not type up the entire book name here...it's really long) and I love this quote:

"The law says, Do, and life you'll win;

                          but grace says, Live for all is done;

                     the former cannot ease my grief,

                  the latter yields me full relief."

I want to taste Grace every. single. day. I want to be a vessel of grace. And as much as I am sure I will always have an internal struggle with this topic, I am so thankful for pastors who also write like Tchividjian so we may learn from them.

And now, on to the giveaway:

I have one copy of One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian to give away. The giveaway is open to US residents with a physical address (no P.O. boxes, sorry!) age 18 and up. It begins today, Thursday, October 17th, at 12 am CST, and will close on Sunday, October 27th, at 12 am CST. The only mandatory entry for the giveaway is to leave a blog comment; I would love if you'd answer this question: Has the topic of Grace ever captured your interest? Why? The winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter. They will be announced in an addendum at the top of this post, as well as on the Rafflecopter form, within 48 hours of the giveaway's close. I will also contact them via e-mail. (Please ensure you use a valid, working e-mail address to enter with on the Rafflecopter form.) The winner will have 48 hours to contact me via the e-mail listed in the announcement post to claim their prize. I will need the winners full name and physical  address to forward to the blogger network sponsoring the giveaway so they can mail the giveaway copy to the winner directly. For any other information regarding giveaways hosted on my blog, please visit the official giveaway page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway "Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."