I chose to review A Beautiful Defeat by Kevin Malarky because.. well.. I dunno, I guess the title was catchy? I was looking over the list of books to review from the publisher and not only was it high on the list (I didn’t really scroll much further past the “A”s) but the short description intrigued me enough to request it. Lol.
About the Book
Description from Amazon.com:
Total surrender to God: the surprising key to experiencing the sense of peace and purpose you crave.
There is a gnawing feeling inside all of us that says we could be better. If we would just be more organized or work a little harder, we’d finally have the rich and fulfilling life we want.
But the message of the cross is different.
The message is not one of God saying, “I died for your sins to work as a consultant to help you achieve the life you’re determined to have.” Jesus died to reconcile us to God so that we can die and give our lives to him and to others—a total surrender that is truly a beautiful defeat!
Perspective and peace in the midst of the stormy chaos of life are always available to the person who lives a surrendered life. The result is a rich existence basking in the pleasure and approval of God.
My Thoughts on the Book
This book is primarily aimed at those who are feeling stagnant in their Christian walk, or confused as to why they still struggle with sin and worldly ills while being “born again”. I’d pin it as most helpful to new believers or backslidden Christians, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable and a beneficial read as a 15 years in the faith, read my Bible every day, Jesus freak believer.
I loved the references to putting on Spiritual armor being likened to a Navy SEAL preparing for a mission. It was spot on and so to the point. Too often in our culture, people trivialize these very serious Biblical warnings and precepts and try to make them into cute, palatable and marketable slogans. I remember as a teenager, working at a Christian bookstore and running into some cheesy “Bible Man” action figure, that you dress up into comic book action figure armor, including the very feminine looking “breastplate of righteousness”. Malarky cuts through all that mushy “American Christianity” nonsense, and gets to the point, giving centuries old lifesaving wisdom modern day the everyday relevance it deserves.
He also talks about the very real enemy of our souls and the world – the Devil. Soooo many Christians try to pretend this evil entity does not exist. He’s trivialized down to some elusive concept of “bad”. Rarely is he even defined as something as stark as “evil”. Again, Malarky pulls no punches and calls a spade a spade.. something I deeply admire in Christian teachers.
I applaud Malarky and this book for fighting the tide of modern day Christianity, and opposes the lukewarm masses that do not use the Scriptures as their standard for living, and just cater to those with itching ears only wanting to hear what they want to hear.. the whole “you’re okay, I’m okay, and we’re all okay, GO JESUS!” crowd.
This book is Biblically sound, a very easy read with a smooth flow, and easy action steps and prayer for those looking to digest it in a devotional form. I would recommend it to any Bible believing Christian seeking to deepen their faith and dive into a real relation with the Creator of their souls!
