Dug Down Deep

Do you remember the first time you saw a 3-D movie?

I think I was eight. Our family went to Orlando for a week. We sat in this giant theater at one of the parks. Somebody gave us the flimsy little red and blue glasses with the big white frames. I refused to put them on. My older brother (he was sixteen) kept telling me “Just do it. Just do it! Put ‘em on!”

I didn’t want to. I insisted I already knew how to watch a movie, and sliding these weird-looking things over my already goofy eyeglasses was not part of the deal.

When the movie started, I could see the screen, but it wasn’t right. Bright colors vibrated around familiar shapes, but instead of being entertaining, it was annoying, blurry and visually too loud.

Finally I slunk down in my seat, made sure my bossy brother wasn’t watching me, then slid on the glasses. WOW. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced! Instead of being a bystander, I became part of the movie. It swirled toward and around me, inviting me further and further into the life the filmmakers created for me.

That experience — the moment seeing-but-not-seeing turns into something unbelievably tangible and beautiful and right — that’s what Joshua Harris’s newest book is like. Dug Down Deep takes the seemingly abstract subject of doctrine and reveals it in it’s full form. Instead of blurry images of  old men arguing irrelevant details, it becomes clearly seen as the absolute foundation to living a Christian life. Instead of boasting intellectualism void of action, it becomes evident as the catalyst toward compassionate evangelism and social responsibility.

He writes: “It matters not because we want to impress people, but because what we know about God shapes the way we think and live. Theology matters because if we get it wrong then our whole life will be wrong.“

If you’re already a student of theology, much of this book may be review for you. However, the personal narrative, the ease of application, and the simple flow of this book make it a great read for any Christian, regardless of where they are in their spiritual training.

In the over two hundred pages, one part struck me more than the rest. Toward the beginning of the book Harris talks about the wise and foolish builders. I’ve read that story hundreds of times; I’ve even taught about it, but his perspective has haunted me ever since that first reading. The “rock” in the story isn’t Jesus; it’s solid theology. You may already know that Jesus told this parable believers about believers. The story doesn’t contrast Christians with non-Christians; it contrasts those who follow Jesus’ instructions with those who don’t. But the wise man who dug down deep to find the rock, dug to make sure his life was founded on solid, accurate teachings. Both worked to build a life that would honor Christ. Only one made sure he started with the right foundation.

Do we live this Christian life because it’s what we’ve always known? Because it makes us happy? Because we like the culture or the people in it?

That’s why I like this book. It urges believers to (as the subtitle suggests) unearth what we believe. It reminds us why what we believe is so very important to our everyday life.

You can buy the book here.

About the Author:
Joshua Harris is senior pastor of Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which belongs to the Sovereign Grace network of local churches. A passionate speaker with a gift for making theological truth easy to understand, Joshua is perhaps best known for his runaway bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which he wrote at the age of twenty-one. His later books include Boy Meets Girl, Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is), and Stop Dating the Church. The founder of the NEXT conferences for young adults, Joshua is committed to seeing the gospel transferred to a new generation of Christians. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children.