Christmas is coming....

...and the bloggers are all over it! There are countless bloggers trying to come up with something fresh - something distinct - to say about Christmas.

I'm not going to do that.


Not today at least.

Instead, I'm going to quote from a book that I'm currently reading - it's called Death by Love, written by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. I'm still a few chapters from the end, but it's a fantastic book that I would happily endorse. Read more about it here.

Here's a section, just to get you thinking.

In Christianity Lite the cross of Jesus is overlooked by people seeking a Christianity in which the objective is to gloify Self, the power to do is Self, and the means to do so are self-sufficiency, victorious living, pride, and comfort, which together commingle as a false gospel that is of no help when the dark seasons of life envelope you.

The great Reformer Martin Luther distinguished between the Christianity Lite theology of glory and the theology of the cross. The theology of glory celebrates what human beings can do based on their personal vision, self-discipline, and hard work. The theology of the cross celebrates what Jesus alone can accomplish for us, through us, with us, and in spite of us. The theology of glory seeks to know God directly in his power, wisdom, success and glory. The theology of the cross seeks to know God through the seeming weakness, folly, failure, and shame of the crucified Jesus. The theology of glory seeks to use God to avoid suffering, hardship, pain, shame, loss and failure as opportunities to grow in an understanding, appreciation, and emulation of the crucified Jesus. The theology of glory seeks to use God to obtain health and wealth. The theology of the cross seeks Jesus, even if that should mean experiencing pain and poverty like Jesus.

-- From Death By Love, by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears (p.202), published by Crossway.