Three Key Elements of Spiritual Formation

In his book, "Living the Resurrection," Eugene H. Peterson provides three steps to help the Christian maintain a close relationship with Jesus Christ. The three steps, resurrection wonder, resurrection meals, and resurrection friends are shown by gospel examples to be essential, in fact, to be the core of our spiritual formation. The author illustrates resurrection wonder through the gospel accounts of how the first eye witnesses to Jesus' resurrection responded: with awe and wonder similar to how a young child views the world. The author then goes on to share the gospel accounts of the meals shared with Jesus Christ after his resurrection and the similarities that each of those meals shared. In his final chapter, the author illustrates, again using the gospels, that friends are an essential part of our spiritual formation. While we will never know all there is to know about God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, we each have something that we can teach one another. Spiritual formation cannot be done individually.
I think that the items that the author discussed in his book are very important in growing and maintaining a relationship with God. One major obstacle in reading this book, which surprised me, was getting passed the complex vocabulary that the author chose to write with. As the author of the Message, an easy to understand paraphrasing bible, I expected to see that same writing style used in this book. My advise is to keep a dictionary handy while reading this book because there are places it will take a little work to understand.
I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."