My honest opinion, from the start, is that Kozak had a slow start with his book. Hear me out 🙂 In my opinion, the first line of the entire book should have been, “A disciple is marked by the kingdom.” (vii) Since I sat down with the book the first time and traveled through the Introduction and the first chapter entitled Gospel, that one line was reverberating through my finite mind. I think Kozak is on to something.
The crux of MARKED is the dichotomy that we face as believers in being in between, what I understand to be, two kingdoms. What if, instead of continually “accepting” Jesus day after day (or, for some, year after year), we did something terrifying? What if we died? Only in dying will we “live the life God intended for us, to become part of something bigger than ourselves, to belong to a new kingdom; that is not ruled by men but ruled by Jesus.” (Marked, 7-8)
You cannot serve two kings at the same time. Kozak’s book, to me, feels like an exposition of Luke 9:23, And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me [if anyone believes in me], let him deny himself and take up his cross daily [PART ONE: dying] and follow me [PART TWO: living].”
If you are looking to answer the question of whether or not you are a disciple of Christ, Kozak’s book is a beautiful (sometimes intimately honest, personal, and gut-wrenching) step in the right direction. It is by no means a “difficult” read — and I mean you can get through it without a seminary degree. Marked by Steven Kozak is biblically sound and a sermon that needs to be heard by many. Kozak provides space for notes and a bibliography/endnotes for readers to dig deeper.
I would recommend this book to a believer, any believer, who knows Christ as their Savior but does not know where to go from there.
Book Information:
Author: Steven Kozak
Page count: 194
Publisher: Rochester Media, 2012
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Gospel
PART ONE: DYING
The Commitment
The Allegiance
The Surrender
The Obedient
PART TWO: LIVING
The Resurrection
The Mission
The Community
The Prepared
The Deep
Conclusion
See also r3ally.org for more detailed insight!
** This book was provided free from @stevenmkozak himself, with my promise to provide an unbiased review.
