"Blue Like Jazz" Book Review

For many, Donald Miller is a familiar name. Others may not know him, but doubtless have seen his well-known book Blue Like Jazz sitting on the bookshelves of their local bookstore. Some of you have purchased and read said book from said bookstore. The others who have not should make the transition into the first category.

Blue Like Jazz makes for quite a hodgepodge of musings regarding church, community, faith, grace, love, money, and redemption; highlighting the manner in which each of these fit into the life Jesus has called us to live. Feelings of inadequacy, bouts of doubt and despair, and the necessity for love and grace are all central themes in Miller’s book.

For those who think such a book does not suit their fancy or lacks relevancy, just read the titles of the various chapters: “gods: Our Tiny Invisible Friends,” “Redemption: The Sexy Carrots,” “Community: Living with Freaks,” “Romance: Meeting Girls is Easy,” and, finally, “Faith: Penguin Sex.” If the titles peak your interest, so will the chapters themselves.

With such profound thoughts communicated in such a simple manner (and with great satire), Miller certainly has a skill for communicating deep truth in a way both the theologian and simpleton alike can comprehend.

One such concept is the infatuation many Christians have with being religious: “I believe the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man’s mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God” (Blue Like Jazz, 13).

“Satan, who I believe exists as much as I believe Jesus exists, wants us to believe meaningless things for meaningless reasons. Can you image,” Miller asks, “if Christians actually believed that God was trying to rescue us from the pit of our own self-addiction? Can you imagine? Can you imagine what Americans would do if they understood over half the world was living in poverty? Do you think they would change the way they live, the products they purchase, and the politicians they elect? If we believed the right things, the true things, there wouldn’t be very many problems on earth” (106-107). At the heart of all the problems in the world lives our corrupted view of pleasure, of meaning, of purpose, and, most importantly, of love. If we truly understood this, Miller observed, how differently we would live our lives.

“I think Christian spirituality is like jazz music. I think loving Jesus is something you feel. I think it is something very difficult to get on paper. But it is no less real, no less meaningful, no less beautiful” (239). And beauty, meaning, and reality all come into clarity when we com to understand that “the most important thing that happens within Christian spirituality is when a person falls in love with Jesus” (237). For loving Jesus is what all of life comes down to.