The Rage Against Grace: Poetry for the Healing of a Resistant Heart

A difficult, yet altogether beautiful, invitation extended to everyone is to let life be wholly defined by the living God, rather than our systems for conceiving of God.

Graciously, God tends to confront our static images of Him wherever they become a barrier to relationship. The difficulty is that these systems, images, and ways of life are often good things, like moral values or daily routines. To see them be put to death is disorienting at best. Yet, our raging against their deaths is ultimately a rage against grace — a fearful rejection of the gift of life lived deeply acquainted with the God who is Love. In recent years, Jordan Sleed found himself asking: “What if the things I’m supposed to let go of are “good” things?” And where simple explanations fail to bring comfort, prayerful poetry became an easy companion. In The Rage Against Grace, you won’t find a tidy answer to all the questions of the spiritual journey. This near three-year collection of poetry includes as much groaning as it does clarity. These words tell an ongoing story, not of one decisive change in direction, but of a gradual shift from the self-preserving spirituality of an independent mind to a lifestyle of openness to the love of God.

• Over 100 never-before-seen poems

• Short and personal essays on life with God

• Honest prayers to give voice to moments of confusion

• Thought-provoking material to read at your own pace

• Original cover art inspired by the book

• Worthwhile foreword contextualizing the poetry in lived experience

The Rage Against Grace may serve as an invitation to the spiritual skeptic or the disgruntled Christian waiting on the transformation only God can bring.