The Rest of Life: Rest, Play, Eating, Studying, Sex from a Kingdom Perspective

by Ben Witherington III

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2012

Overview

When was the last time you heard a sermon on the theological importance of play? What do rest, eating, studying—and sex—have to do with the kingdom of God? Strangely, although these activities together take up much of our time, they seldom receive much discussion from a biblical point of view. In The Rest of Life Ben Witherington explores these subjects in the light of biblical teaching about the kingdom of God and the Christian hope for the future. He shows why and how all the normal activities of life should be done to the glory of God and for the edification of others. Focusing as it does on practical, everyday matters in an accessible style, this topical study is ideal for both individual reading and small-group discussion.

Key Features

• Presents theological explorations of Christian living
• Addresses major questions in practical theology

Contents

• Is There a Sabbatical Plan for Christians?
• Play On
• Food for Thought
• Eat This Book—Studying the Scriptures
• Sex and the City of God
• As for the Rest of Life . . .

Top Highlights

“The standing joke about Methodists (I’m one myself) is that Jesus turned the water into wine, and ever since Methodists have been trying to turn it back into grape juice. Jesus had no such scruples against wine.” (Page 74)

“If you don’t think God is playful, you haven’t examined his creation much lately. What kind of God makes a duck-billed platypus or a funny old bird like an ostrich or for that matter a giraffe? When you actually start examining creation closely, if it doesn’t make you smile and then laugh, then you have no sense of humor. God certainly has a sense of humor and a sense of play.” (Page 49)

“When another person is used as a means to an end, a means to scratch your own selfish itch, then we are dealing with lust and not love. And our culture can’t easily distinguish the two. Lots of times we hear people say ‘we’re in love,’ but in fact what is meant is ‘we’re in heat.’” (Page 115)

“These folks had lost themselves in the moment, forgotten about their sorrows, and were having a good time. But here’s the thing—this was not merely an escape from reality. It was a momentary escape into the future reality that God intended for us all.” (Page 56)

“What we have stressed in this chapter is that having a Kingdom view, an eschatological view of life, doesn’t cause one to place less emphasis on play; if anything it causes one to place more emphasis on it, as a way of tuning up for Kingdom come.” (Page 62)

Endorsements

Witherington leads us to a truly lived spirituality, where the entirety of our days, our energies and our pursuits discover meaning in God's kingdom.

—Themelios

This latest creation of Ben Witherington is a delicious blend of research in Scripture and conversations with theological partners. Witherington makes a unique contribution to the biblical understanding of everyday themes by rooting his discussion in the kingdom of God. He gives us bifocal lenses so we can look at life both close-up, as it is now, and as it will become in the fullness of God’s lovely reign. This is an invigorating book, a delight to read.

—R. Paul Stevens

Unique blend of scholarship and light-hearted observations, crisply stated, on topics of abiding interest.

—Religious Herald

This timely book by Ben Witherington is all about ‘life appreciation’ from a biblical and eschatological view. The Rest of Life is a most relevant book for small-group discussion. An added bonus to me is Witherington’s fair critique of other contemporary and popular writers. He challenges and enhances our daily life experiences, which, strangely enough, seldom receive detailed theological and ethical discussion. Witherington calls us to be better stewards of the rest of our life!

—Clayton L. Smith

Whether you pick up this book to read on your own, or gather a Sunday School class, book group or pastors' study group for discussion, the time spent doing so will be worthwhile.

—Presbyterian Outlook

Product Details

• Title: The Rest of Life: Rest, Play, Eating, Studying, Sex from a Kingdom Perspective
• Author: Ben Witherington III
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2015
• Pages: 168
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Christian life
• ISBNs: 9780802867377, 0802867375
• Resource ID: LLS:RSTLFKNGPRSPCTV
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-19T16:57:23Z

About Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. A prominent evangelical scholar, he is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His other works include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth and commentaries on the entire New Testament. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications and is a frequent contributor to Patheos and Beliefnet. Witherington is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He is a John Wesley Fellow for Life, a research fellow at Cambridge University and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, Society for the Study of the New Testament and the Institute for Biblical Research. He previously taught at institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and a popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings around the world. He has led numerous study tours through the lands of the Bible and is known for bringing the text to life through incisive historical and cultural analysis. Along with many interviews on radio and television networks across the country, Witherington has been seen in programs such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul—The Word and the Witness.

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