Lost in Christ

By Brad East

Dear future saint,

You have written before about “being” or “becoming” a “good person.” It surely seems odd to you, then, that I have waited so long to describe the virtues of Christian living.

The first thing to say is that I haven’t waited this whole time. I’ve been describing the Christian life all along. But you’re right that I haven’t turned my gaze to the topic itself just yet.

The second thing to say is why this is the right order. Why, I mean, I’ve been directing your gaze away from yourself and your behavior all this time. This is no accident. It points to the essence of what it means to be a Christian.

Christianity is “eccentric” and “ecstatic.” It teaches that our center lies outside ourselves. We follow Jesus, place our trust in him, set our hope on him, crown him with our highest love. Christianity goes desperately wrong when we are constantly looking within ourselves, whether for “real” faith or “good” works or “right” motivation or “sincere” feelings. It’s worked its magic on us, instead, when we are self-forgetful, looking to Christ alone in everything.

Have you ever gotten lost in a novel, a movie, a concert, a dinner with friends? So lost that hours went by without your noticing? And when you “came to,” realizing what had happened, you weren’t upset or frustrated but awestruck at the spell the experience cast over you?

That’s the kind of self-forgetfulness I have in mind. Christ is so beautiful, so captivating, so rapturous that we can’t look away. It doesn’t even occur to us to look to ourselves, to think of ourselves. He is the newborn child in a mother’s arms, the bride at the end of the aisle, the newly crowned king at his coronation. We lose ourselves in him. And in losing ourselves in him—as he taught—we find ourselves at last.

Yours in Christ,

a fellow pilgrim

— Brad East is associate professor of theology at Abilene Christian University. He is also the author of The Church: A Guide to the People of God, The Church’s Book: Theology of Scripture in Ecclesial Context, and The Doctrine of Scripture. His essays have been published in numerous academic journals as well as The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Commonweal, First Things, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Point, and more.

image: Statue of the Risen Christ

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Excerpted from Letters to a Future Saint: Foundations of Faith for the Spiritually Hungry by Brad East (Eerdmans, 2024). Used by permission.

Christianity Today Award of Merit for Book of the Year (2025)

Christianity Today Book Awards - Christian Living/Spiritual Formation Finalist (2025)

In these letters, a fellow pilgrim addresses future saints: the bored and the distracted, the skeptical and the curious, the young and the spiritually hungry. Lively and readable, these bite-sized letters explain the basics of Christian life, including orthodox doctrine, the story of Scripture, the way of discipleship, and more.

Interweaving Scripture, poetry, and theological writings, Letters to a Future Saint educates readers in the richness of the Christian tradition. But beyond that, this earnest and approachable volume offers young people—who may be largely uninformed of the depths of faith despite having been raised in Christian homes—an invitation into the life of the church and into a deeper relationship with God.

“The letters that Brad East writes here are signed, ‘Yours in Christ, a fellow pilgrim,’ and that tells you most of what you need to know about this wonderful book. It’s a warmhearted, clear-sighted account of life ‘in Christ,’ not pronounced from on high, but narrated by someone a little farther along the Way than the young people it’s addressed to. This is a book to give to many of those pilgrims near the outset of their journey.”
—Alan Jacobs, Baylor University

“These letters tell the story of Jesus in many ways, from many different angles, and with a lightness of touch. They also convey what it might feel like to be a Christian and to think about the world in light of the story of Jesus. If you are someone who cares about young people or those of any age finding their way in the spiritual life—if you care about future saints—read this book and share it with others.”
—Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night

Find Letters to a Future Saint at Eerdmans, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Christianbook.com.

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