Author:
Mark Sayers
Published:March 2nd 2010 by Thomas Nelson (first published 2010)
Details:Paperback, 224 pages
ISBN:0849920000
My Thoughts
From,”The Vertical Self”
Our greatest scorn is reserved for those who fail at the game of looking good. this is why we have become so obsessed with hypocrisy. We experience a guilty pleasure when others are “found out”.
……Their charades just prove to us that no one is really good; therefore, we all must just put on an act that says we are
……The measuring stick for our success in this quest becomes our personal feelings. Do we feel great? Do we feel free? Do we feel happy?”
How often do we based things, anything, even just going to church on how it makes us FEEL? Maybe we feel that by following a certain pattern that is on display for others, that will complete our lives?
In, “The Vertical Self”, I found it to be a very challenging read, because it challenges us to go beyond caring, even as followers, what the world and sometimes, just our fellow believers, think, but focus on the person that matters most, our Heavenly Father and instead of looking side by side (hence the Horizontal Self), we start looking upward, towards our Father, more in our lives.
Convicting, challenging and encouraging (yes, Christian keywords), “The Vertical Self” was interesting to read, because, it’s not a self-help book, it’s not a “do this and you’ll be doing great in your Christian walk” but it takes a step out of everything, and challenges the believer, to really pursue a radical and transparent faith and walk with our Heavenly Father.
Filled with references to modern culture and with biblical references, Mark Sayers, really goes in depth with “The Vertical Self”, so be prepared for a book that isn’t a quick through read, but instead, you will find yourself with a pencil, plenty of corners turned down to re-read and times, where you may find yourself on a stop-think-read-re read and challenge your personal thoughts and convictions about your own walk.
Publisher’s Description
It’s time for a return to Radical Holiness.
Welcome to the 21st century where you can now purchase and exchange personalities, depending on mood and circumstance; where you are told that you can be anyone you want to be, and identity is no longer based in a sense of self but rather in the imagery you choose at that moment.
The Bible contains a radically different way of understanding our identity. The path that God has chosen for us to discover who we really are is the path of holiness.
The most exciting thing is that this path is not for otherworldy saints, rather it is a path of earthy, gutsy holiness. It’s a path that is not about basing your life on this world or of shunning your desires. Instead, it is about bringing your hopes, your dreams, your brokenness, your desires, your humanness under the Lordship of Christ. By doing this we don’t just discover a new way of living out our faith, we discover a liberating, revolutionary, life-embracing way of being truly human.
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