J-Curve: Dying and Rising with Jesus in Everyday Life (2024)

This book goes is my top five most formative books! Paul Miller is incredibly intelligent and wise yet writes with such humility and understanding with approachable theology! This book was so refreshing and good for my soul! I could clearly see how the Spirit was working some of these teachings in my heart!

Super great! This is the second book of Paul Millers that I’ve read & I just really appreciate his humbleness. He pointed out things I’ve never noticed before in scripture that really got me thinking & helped me connect different aspects of God that I’ve never thought of before. It also had me convicted over different areas of my life.

Upon finishing this book, I couldn't help but recall Deitrich Bonhoeffer's famous line, "When God calls a man, he bids him 'come and die'".

Miller's J-Curve is not really a book about "suffering" (though it contains biblical guidance for those circ*mstances) but is more so about dying. (It's epilogue covers a few pages about the death of his daughter at 42 of cancer). But the death isn't the physical variety of which he writes, rather, it's of the spiritual, the daily "dying to self" that Jesus modeled perfectly and calls his own to do as well, even if imperfectly.

Miller's style is straightforward, in that sense it's an "easy read", along with diagrams that are scattered throughout the pages illustrating the concepts that Miller is pulling from the pages of scripture, namely Philippians and 1 Corinthians.

Of course the "dying" part might be enough for some to reject the book, as few want to die. But the latter half of the "j" is the upward trajectory of resurrection, sanctification, becoming more like Jesus. Miller has an effective illustration of what, we as followers of Jesus, are daily asked to do.

Miller's reading of Paul, the New Testament, the grand narrative of the life of Christ is that we really have no other option if we are to truly follow after Christ. The gospel is about Jesus, who willingly went "low", died, and in his resurrection, made life possible. Paul exemplifies this pattern in his ministry and letters to the church and when we are confronted with Christ's statement, "He who would like to keep his life must lose it..." we get a sense of what the white-hot core of the gospel is.

This is a good read, convicting, challenging, but altogether a primer on how to die so that you might live.

It was a good book and has some excellent biblical teachings. Some good spiritual insights.
However, I think that it could have been better. It was too long, too much repetition. The author had some excellent personal illustrations but at times they seem to more focused on his personal successes than was appropriate.
However, despite some issues, it is worth reading and I recommend it.

This is an excellent book. Succinctly, it is about understanding our sanctification through the lens of our union with Christ. And this is the main way in which the NT speaks of said topic, though few books on the pursuit of holiness mention it. And yes, this book has a terrible title, but it's quite simple when you think of it: just as Christ had lower himself through death before rising in resurrection, so we can be guaranteed in life to be brought low through the trials of sanctification before achieving glory.

Why is this so hard for us to understand? Why do we expect life to be easy? Why do we get upset when it's not? Why do we assume God only "uses" suffering instead of actually planning it? He sent his beloved sin to die, for crying out loud! And the apostles promise similar things to us. Even Jesus himself told us to carry around the method of our own execution--that is, to take up our cross.

Miller does well in this book mixing theology and application. Too many of the illustrations were about himself, but they were powerful nonetheless. I think every Christian needs to read this book. It would also make for an excellent group discussion. For a Bible study it could be paired with Ferguson's Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification, which is more like straightforward exegesis.

Just amazing and life changing, like his other book on prayer. He's so practical and humble and you can tell he's walked with the Lord for many decades. Definitely one to reread.

I know a book has affected me when I start using the author's language. This book is exactly that. I can't help but now see all of life in terms of the dying and rising of Christ and how we can embody that in every day life. I find myself using "J-Curve" language all the time now!

This book is filled with wisdom from the book of Philippians and 1 Corinthians and what exactly Paul meant when he said he wanted to experience the sufferings of Christ. Although not exclusively a book on suffering, per say, it will help you understand just what your attitude should be in the midst of suffering–that is, the attitude of Christ.

I have read multiple Paul Miller books now and although this one is different that A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting WorldA Praying Life and A Loving Life: In a World of Broken RelationshipsA Loving Life, it still packs that Paul Miller honesty and humility that I've come to appreciate and truly love. Paul Miller is a man who loves the Word of God and who has fleshed out deeply what it means to pray, love, and suffer in order that he might know Christ. The church would do well to hear his instruction to us that we might know Christ more and more, die daily, and show Christ to a lost world.

“Living to die, dying to rise”

A helpful and healthy perspective on the Christian life. I appreciated Millers insights on how to apply the death and resurrection of Jesus to everyday and ordinary situations.

The understandable tendency of the Protestant church is to lean heavily on the doctrine of justification. After all, as Calvin rightly appraised, “Justification is the main hinge upon which salvation turns.”

The Reformation was largely a backlash against the Roman Catholic interpretation of sanctification--a “sanctification” divorced from the biblical foundation of justification. In summarizing Martin Luther’s appraisal of the matter, a modern scholar writes: “Sanctification is...simply the art of getting used to justification.”

I point this out because Paul Miller does a superb job of expounding the unique role of sanctification in the Christian life. Primarily focusing on the New Testament book of Philippians, Miller references directly and indirectly a significant number of (footnoted) sources, with anecdotal accounts generously sprinkled throughout (those familiar with A Praying Life will recognize some crossover here).

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ lies at the core of Christianity. However, a read through the New Testament reveals an ongoing process of deaths and resurrections that will occur throughout the lifetime of a believer. These are what the author refers to as the “J-Curve.”

Miller builds off of this thesis: “Jesus lived the J-Curve for me [that is, justification], so that He can reproduce the J-Curve in me [that is, sanctification].”

He identifies three primary ways to trace the curve: (1) “In the repentance J-Curve, we put to death the evil in us.” (2) “In the love J-Curve, my dying is for your rising.” (3) “In the suffering J-Curve, external dying leads to internal resurrection.”

The book manages to strike a manageable balance between the theoretical and the practical. It might not appeal to those who would prefer a strictly academic treatment. At the same time, I imagine a number of readers will appreciate the accessibility of the material.

Any time theological concepts are expounded, the danger is that explanation will be divorced from application. Because Miller takes such pains to make sure this isn’t the case, he goes over some of the same ground from multiple angles. This might seem unnecessarily repetitive. For me, there was enough variation on the theme, as well as consideration of its practical import, that this was not a problem.

The Incarnation is the J-Curve. The Incarnation defines love. Just as Jesus willingly humbled Himself even to the point of death, so love is sacrificial, costly and inconvenient. But, the author argues, love as defined by the Incarnation renews a vision for goodness and beauty. Goodness and beauty are abstract concepts. They need fleshing out.

Since the Reformation, the church (in general) has been better at seeing sin than seeing and celebrating love. We have a clear vision of what we shouldn’t be but a dull vision of what we should be. Our wonderful Reformation emphasis on sin and grace needs to be enlarged to encompass a vision of beauty and love. Otherwise, we will get stuck in the darkness.

Life consists of a series of mini-deaths and mini-resurrections that often occur within a larger, multiple year death and resurrection. All of these, of course, find their expression in the grand narrative of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The author takes a biblical lense, polishes it, and holds it up for the reader to see more clearly and with greater clarity what the Lord is up to.

Life is hard. How do we deal with unfairness, raw-deals and suffering? Consider:

Almost everyone I’ve seen who has been trapped by bitterness has focused on the big dying and been blind to multiple mini-resurrections in their lives. Almost counterintuitively, the most thankful and happy people I know are confined to wheelchairs...People cultivate bitterness by retelling the story of what life has done for them. We can cultivate joy by watching for the Spirit to re-enact the story of Jesus’ dying and rising.

My hat is off to Miller for tackling this topic. Since Jesus said it is incumbent upon the Christian to take up their cross daily, it is certainly worthwhile to explore what that looks like. The church can benefit from the way the author has handled it.

I wasn't sure how many stars to give this book. The concepts in it are really important. Miller has some brilliant diagrams that explain things clearly. It has changed my thinking, helped me love Jesus more and shifted my attitude towards loving and serving others.

This book basically traces the path of Jesus in Philippians 2: not using his position for himself, but emptying himself to serve to the point of death, before being glorified by the Father - and argues that this is the shape of every believer's life. Both in the big picture (we suffer and die in this life, but will be glorified when Christ returns), and in the every day as we: fight sin in ourselves, face suffering from outside, and choose to love in costly ways. It's brilliant, and every believer should think deeply about these ideas.

But unfortunately it wasn't overly well written. It is long. Way too long, and very repetitive. Most chapters say the same thing and I often got to the end of a chapter not know exactly what it was about. It was such a pity, because if it had been tighter and clearer it would have been brilliant.

I'd still recommend it, but unfortunately with those caveats. I think his earlier book "A Loving Life" is much better and covers the same concepts much more succinctly. If you're strapped for time, read "A Loving Life" instead.

J-Curve has changed how I process the challenges of life. At first, I was hesitant to accept Miller's notion that little things (e.g. being embarrassed by something a family member says or someone taking credit for another's accomplishments) can join one in the fellowship of Christ's sufferings. However, as he developed his ideas throughout the book I began to see his point: we who have gone through the salvation (or "faith") J-Curve have been joined to Christ (Romans 6:3-4), walking in newness of life. Although we were made new at that time, we are still being sanctified. Any opportunity we have to die to ourselves and our flesh then is also an opportunity to rise with Christ; this happens through the three "present" J-Curves.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from the book that captures some core ideas of the book: "The J-Curve makes union with Christ come alive: it's not just an idea we believe, but a present reality. For most Christians, union with Christ is a vague, even sterile idea, but when you begin to experience in the J-Curve the doing part of the union, the being part of the union comes alive" (Miller, 58).

Because we are in Christ, it changes how we interact with the world. Because we are in Christ, it is possible for us to grow as we encounter challenges. This growth is possible because we, through our union with Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, are able to perform the Christ-imitating motion of dying and rising: the J-Curve.

A five star rating bc this was an edifying read. I actually really struggled to finish this book- I believe that’s for three reasons: 1) I listened to the audiobook… this should be a physical read. 2) I’m prone to struggle through “informational” or “formational” reads. 3) Paul Miller went on some rabbit trails as he tried to so thoroughly unpack this topic. However, it remains a 5 star bc it was spot on with truth. On days that I read this in the morning, I noticed that meditating on J Curves seriously impacted my ability and desire to mom that day. I was a much more sacrificial, joyful mom. And that’s incredible. I’d like to buy this book and keep it nearby.

My one thing that I truly struggled with was Paul’s references to feelism and a therapeutic mindset- both things Christian should guard against. I don’t think he’d say feelings or therapy are wrong BUT i’m not sure in what context he would encourage them. Something for me to get on the second read or just figure out on my own.

I have been a student of Paul and his parents (Jack and Rose Marie Miller) for almost 30 years. I picked this up at a perfect time in my life as the weariness not just of 2020 and all that it has been, but the weariness I have been trying to shake off since maybe 2012/13 when I finally admitted deep anxiety and exhaustion that led me to pulling back from much of my typical roles in life and ministry. The J-Curve not simply reminded me that the Gospel brings about little deaths every day as we become less and Christ becomes more in our living and loving, but it made the resurrection piece finally settle in for me in a way I have been missing. I know suffering. I know life being hard. I understand God works mightily in those times. But I had lost the hope of rejoicing in the rising with Christ and the vision to even see how that was happening in my life with each "death". I'm thankful I read it at this time. And I pray the work begun, will deepen in an evident joy, hope, and energizing love lived out.

While this book could have used some editing as it gets super repetitive, the message is still super important! "If we want to be free of suffering, our life will be tragic and shallow. If dying and rising with Jesus is our master narrative, then we can look forward to a rich life filled with adventure, hope, and joy." This verse comes to mind even more so now: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

A very practical book about what dying and rising with Jesus looks like. A little repetitive, but a good book nonetheless.

I only made it through the first part (chapters 1-9) of this book. I expected to love it, but I find it’s reasoning shallow.

I like the concept behind this book: when facing suffering we must lean into Jesus rather than trying to make our own way out. The J-curve imagery of death leading to resurrection is helpful, too. So often leaning into Jesus feels like a type of dying because leaning into Jesus means following Jesus’s way rather than my own desires. And when I do walk with Jesus through suffering, my faith always grows and opens up to a deeper relationship with Him.

Unfortunately, Miller overlooks Jesus to focus on the process, and he doesn’t define the process well. Justification by faith is compared to trusting that God to consider you righteous when your wife is upset with you for making a water stain with a wet Dixie cup. Later in the same chapter, Judas (Jesus’s betrayer) is chastised for not having such faith (p. 48). There is a vast difference between trusting Jesus to forgive minor offences toward another and trusting Jesus to forgive you when you see him dying on a cross because you betrayed him. Miller doesn’t wrestle with these differences. In a later chapter, Miller implies that Mother Teresa’s faith wasn’t pure because she struggled with spiritual depression (p. 72).

More importantly, by writing about the process of faith without considering the object of faith (Jesus), Miller misses the heart of faith. He glimpses faith’s heart briefly when he mentions Apostle Paul’s wonder of and love for Jesus (p. 39), but he fails to explore it. Rather than helping us have that same wonder and love, Miller tells us how to act like we do. We are told to have faith and to follow the J-curve. When we do, we will rise. But to what? Unfortunately, his answer seems to be that we rise to be better Christians rather than rise into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

In Philippians, Apostle Paul writes, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Miller is doing this. But living faith is a messy thing. Sometimes we betray the one in whom we believe. Sometimes we feel spiritually depressed. And sometimes we write a bit thoughtlessly. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t ask for our perfection; He asks us to lean into Him. Keep leaning, Miller. Keep leaning!

Miller takes theology you already know (justification by faith) and applies it in ways that will change your life. The J-Curve is the process whereby we die and rise with Christ on a daily basis. “The normal Christian life repeatedly re-enacts the dying and rising of Jesus.”

We learn to die in love (we engage evil), repentance (evil is in us), and suffering (evil finds us). Suffering, whether big or small, gives us opportunities to know Christ better and be more like him. We need to be alert to the “thorns” in our life so we can respond like Jesus and be on the lookout for mini-resurrections. “When we embody the story of Jesus, we begin to look like him.” He concludes by showing what this kind of love will look like in community as leaders give up their rights.

This book is giving me a lens through which to view the suffering in my life, both big and small. I can't recommend it enough.

Easily one of the best books to ever reach my hands. The concept of the J-Curve (embodying Jesus' life of love - union with Christ - having fellowship in his suffering and resurrection) is just enormously helpful. Thank God for this book! I pray it reaches many more people.

A little repetitive, but the kind of repetitiveness that I desperately need. Dying (that leads to rising) is truly the normal Christian life. Thank you for this reminder.

I'll be raving about this one for a while!!!

Miller is on a mission to transform our view of the normal moments of Christian life by opening our eyes to get real grasp of what Paul means when he writes and demonstrates how the Christian dies and rises with Christ. The gospel is something we believe and then become - death to self is the shape of the normal Christian life. Consequently, our responses and reactions are totally transformed when we realise we're entering into a J-curve and are on the look out for mini deaths and mini resurrections that replicate the ultimate and atoning death and resurrection of our Lord. Our J-curves almost act like prisms that refract the light of Jesus's death and resurrection so that we see more of it and it's beauty. Grounded in Paul's teaching, there's good discussion of how the J-curve intersects with justification by faith and sacrificial love. Lots of challenges in it's implications on our pride, desire for self-righteousnes, and call to shape a Christ like community of sacrificial love.

It is lengthy and borders on being repetitive, but I do think any repetition is actually just helpful for reaffirming and illustrating this radical way of understanding and engaging. This is a framework that takes practice! Paired with Pauline doctrine and diagrams to demonstrate this framework, the autobiographical dimension speaks volumes as Miller walks us through how he and his family have discovered and embraced the J-curve.

(The Crutchley house has now turned into a J-curve spotting club.)

Paul Miller has given us another excellent book to help us faithfully live out the Christian life. This one looks at the New Testament emphasis on dying and rising with Jesus (J-curve) – both in the salvation we enjoy, as well as in the ongoing process of sanctification we experience until his return.

The benefit of this book is not only in his explanation of this J-curve concept, but how he applies it in the every day, real world experiences of life. MIller is not afraid to make us uncomfortable with the specifics of situations where we have likely failed in the past. But it’s all for our good If we are humble enough to except the way he points back to Jesus, we will find ourselves increasingly changed into His image, and will be all the more joyful for it.

There were a few exegetical quibbles that I would have with the book. But these do not diminish the overall hopefulness of the book. Every Christian would benefit from reading it.

Five star idea. Four star book. I will be thinking of the J-Curve for years to come when I think about what it means to be “in Christ. But this is a four star book — after about 40% of the way through, the book becomes repetitive and it seems to be trying to make a simple concept more and more complicated. I think that’s in part because of Miller’s style but also because this idea comes out of a series of talks — and it’s probably better delivered as a talk. Either way, still a very valuable book that has changed the way I look at plenty of life circ*mstance and relate to people.

The premise of the book is strong and the title/concept is “sticky.” I am not one who enjoys reading belabored points and excessive diagrams, though, and think the book would have been more enjoyable and effective at about a quarter of its length. Also, there are way too many repetitious diagrams; did I say that already? If there were a cliff notes version of this book, it would be worth reading.

The most practical book I’ve ever read on what dying and rising with Christ looks like for a believer. Four stars because parts of the book were fairly repetitive, but I did enjoy all the real-life examples of what it can look like to share in Christ’s sufferings.

I have never read a book that gave me this solid a framework for suffering (in general). Ive gone through it twice now and will likely do a third. I think it could have been shorter and better organized, but its beyond worth it. It will challenge your conception of a "good life"

Probably one of my top 10 favorite books. This book was transformational in understanding how to apply the Gospel in every day life.

There are a lot of good things in this book. It's maybe a little disorganized. Big takeaway: it is dangerous to let the concept of law replace the imitation of Christ as the basic framework for the Christian life.

So helpful! I will definitely re-read!

Good book. I felt like it was repetitive, hence the one star, but still would recommend! His perspective puts a whole new light on the writings of the Apostle Paul.

This was a fabulous book. A must read. It has short chapters and wonderful personal stories. I found the thoughts inside to be transformative. Miller helps us view all of life as an invitation to relate to Jesus. This was so good.