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Title: Enjoying Jesus

Author: Tim Chester

Publisher: The Good Book Company

Year: 2024

Reviewed by Mark Powell

Tim Chester is now something of a prolific Christian author, but this one seems to be his most personal. At the start of chapter 3 he shares that in 2020 he had an emotional breakdown which involved crippling fear and anxiety. In some ways it’s a shame that he doesn’t share what he went through earlier, perhaps even in the preface, because it clearly shapes the book as a whole. However, he does talk about this in a bit more detail in the afterword.

It sounds like such an obvious thing, but when you ask people what does it mean for them to know and enjoy Jesus, it can be somewhat difficult to define. How Chester goes about answering that question then is more than helpful, and he does it in a couple of different ways.

Two Significant Strategies involving Structure

Enjoying Jesus is a spiritually rich and theologically robust exploration of what it means to ‘enjoy’ Jesus in the here and now. The book is structured in two particularly striking ways.

The first is a preface involving two fictional characters, Mike and Jane. They are your average ‘normal’ Christian family facing the stresses and strains of modern-day life. At the end of each chapter of Enjoying Jesus,Chester keeps coming back to a subsequent episode from the prologue which he had previously described regarding their somewhat desperate situation.

This is a practical way of applying the biblical truth which he has just been discussing. What’s more, this also involves a concise ‘action’ point at the end of the chapter for the reader to focus on during the week and apply.

The second strategy is to follow the narrative structure of Luke’s Gospel. Hence, rather than talk about the eternal attributes of Christ, Chester meditates on how Christ related to those around him while he was here on earth. This is again a most helpful way of making what he writes concrete.

The Heart of the Book

Central to the book’s thesis is that being a Christian is not just a matter of knowing the benefits of salvation but loving and enjoying Jesus himself. As Chester explains at one point:

Imagine interviewing a bride as she readies herself to walk down the aisle. She’s just stepped from the car outside the church. Her mother is fussing over her dress, shaking out the folds. And you ask her, ‘Why are you getting married?’ I guess should could say, ‘I’ve come for his money, for his big house, for his reputation’. Or she might say, ‘I want a big party, a lovely dress and a bouquet of flowers—I want to be a princess for a day’. Those would be disappointing replies! I hope she would answer, ‘Obviously, I’ve come to marry my sweetheart. I want us to be bound together in marriage. I want him.’

Now imagine interviewing a Christian as she prepares to get baptised or be confirmed. You ask her, ‘Why are you getting baptised?’ or ‘Why have you decided to follow Jesus?’ I guess she might say, ‘I want to get to heaven. I don’t want to face God’s judgment. I want to be forgiven.’ Those would be excellent answers. They’re certainly true. But there is a better and bigger answer: ‘I want Jesus.’

A Christian is like a bride who marries for love. There are so many wonderful blessings that come with being a Christian: forgiveness, peace, hope, security, purpose, identity. But best of all we get Jesus himself, and in Jesus we share the life and love of the triune God. We get to see God in Christ, bright as a flash of lightning, glorious in his splendour, his face shining like the sun—and he is radiant.

There are many beautiful examples throughout Enjoying Jesus which makes this goal a reality. For example, in talking about enjoying the ‘touch’ of Jesus, Chester has a fine explanation of the Lord’s Supper, and how even though Jesus is physically absent, he is spiritually present with us in ‘communion’.

The Content of the Book

I found every chapter of the book deeply moving and personally applicable. Enjoying Jesus is divided into fourteen chapters. The writing is clear and engaging, saturated with Scripture as well as quotes mainly from the Puritans or those who have studied them. I think the reason is that older Christian authors had a richer ‘experiential theology’. There is a spiritual depth to the Puritans which largely remains unmatched today.

In 2018 Chester published an excellent book Enjoying God and his latest one is really a deeper exploration of what it means to know the second person of the Trinity. To give the reader a better sense of the specific aspects about Jesus which Chester covers, the chapter topics are as follows:

1. Enjoying the presence of Jesus
2. Enjoying the compassion of Jesus
3. Enjoying the shelter of Jesus
4. Enjoying the touch of Jesus
5. Enjoying the vitality of Jesus
6. Enjoying the glory of Jesus
7. Enjoying the delight of Jesus
8. Enjoying the voice of Jesus
9. Enjoying the connection of Jesus
10. Enjoying the anger of Jesus
11. Enjoying the intercession of Jesus
12. Enjoying the reign of Jesus
13. Enjoying the wealth of Jesus
14. Waiting for the appearing of Jesus

Throughout the entire book, there is a wonderful Gospel warmth. Chester lifts up Jesus as the glorious King and Saviour that he truly is. I was especially thankful for this, since I found that Enjoying Jesus constantly moved me to pray. It spurred me on to know and love Jesus as I was reading. Indeed, there were many times where I just had to put the book down and put into practice the particular truth he was addressing.

How Could Enjoying Jesus be Used?

This is not just a great book to read but to also give away. Even before I’d finished Enjoying Jesus I had ordered ten copies for the book table at church. Looking back over the table of contents it would also make for an excellent sermon series at church. Let the preacher understand!

There were lots of great insights, as well as memorable quotes and illustrations, throughout the book. I’m also tempted to go back and do another review with a list of them, but at this point I’d simply encourage you to purchase the book for yourself and read rather than to reply on someone else’s summary.

The final impression I was left with was the amazing providence of God. Enjoying Jesus is a book that has been written out of a place of inner turmoil and fear, rather than the cloistered tower of some theological academic. It’s written by a man who is acutely aware of his own brokenness, but has also found forgiveness, healing and restoration in Jesus. And as such, Enjoying Jesus is a book every Christian will benefit from and be blessed by.

– Mark Powell