In a good book, there will there be one real gem—a new idea, insight, or way of looking at the world—that is both illuminating and profound. In Andy Crouch’s latest, Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, there is a treasure of new insights related to the notions of power, idolatry, and the gospel story that make this a great book.

We are in trouble. We no longer possess, as a culture, the ability to think well about the things that matter most. When it comes to thinking about the nature or existence of God, the purpose of life, or the morality of war, homosexuality, or abortion, we are guided more by our feelings than reason. When we want to find knowledge, largely, as a culture we look to scientists and not philosophers or theologians. As a result, our culture is fixated on image, celebrities, experience, slogans, and thirty-second sound bites. We no longer possess the ability to think well about things that matter most. And the church is no different than the broader culture it finds itself within.

Life is a story. You are mortal. There was a time when you were not. There will be a time when you exit the stage of this life. The past is the fruit of providence and thousands of personal narratives that led to you. You did not choose where to set your feet. You did not choose when to enter the stage. You choose where to set them next. You choose what to do now that you are on stage. You walk across the wet concrete of time and shape the world with your life. And then you die. Spent. Spend it well.