Christ Our Mediator, by C.J. Mahaney

C.J. Mahaney, pastor of Covenant Life Church in suburban Washington, D.C., packs a great deal of truth and conviction in his little book Christ Our Mediator: Finding Passion at the Cross.  This is my first exposure to Mahaney.  If the pastoral tone, theological depth, and clarity in communication in this book are reflective of his overall ministry, I certainly wouldn't mind hearing more from him.

In Christ Our Mediator, Mahaney challenges the reader to focus on the cross, and Jesus mediating purpose.  Too often, we focus on subjective feelings, rather than the object teaching of the gospel.  "Our feelings are an essential part of our right response to reality, but they should never in themselves be the determiner of reality."  We should not "invest our feelings with final authority."  Looking to Paul, Mahaney reminds us of the substance of the gospel: "The main theme and essence of the entirety of holy Scripture" is that "there's a unique intermediary between God and humanity: the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as the ransom for all."

Jesus suffering on the cross, unimaginable to us, had a focus.  In spite of the overwhelming weight of the sin of the world, Jesus' focus was on me.  In his darkest our, he still loved me and was thinking of me.  "There's no greater encouragement, and no greater motivation for everything God has called you to do in life, than to recognize His love for you in His darkest hour, and to receive his care for you in your darkest hour."  That's amazing.  And it should never be far from our minds as we grow as Christians.  We need to preach the gospel to ourselves, again and again, above all else.  "Growth in godliness must be pursued, but never apart from joyful gratitude for the cross."

Christ Our Mediator is a challenging read, not in terms of vocabulary or academic language, but in terms of demanding a response.  Don't let its short 96-page length fool you.

Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah and Edelweis for my complimentary review copy.