There is a strange tension pulsing through American Christianity right now. At the very moment when many believers are shouting louder to “take back the culture,” Jesus whispers a counterintuitive paradox: “Blessed are the meek.” It is precisely this upside-down ethic—the quiet strength of kingdom spirituality—that Jonathan Landry Cruse recovers in Paradox People. As our culture becomes louder, harsher, and more triumphalistic, this slim volume arrives as a bracing, beautiful call back to the way of the cross.
Jonathan Landry Cruse is the pastor of Community Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Kalamazoo, Michigan and a graduate of Westminster Seminary California.
Structure and Aim of the Book
At just under 130 pages, Paradox People is intentionally brief, clear, and accessible. Cruse arranges the book around the eight Beatitudes, devoting one chapter to each:
- I Must Decrease
- Weeping May Tarry for the Night
- The Surprising Secret to World Domination
- Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Desiring Mercy
- Devoted to God
- Heavenly Resemblance
- Through Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares
The book is framed by an introduction, “Kingdom Character,” and a concluding chapter that ties the paradoxes together into a complete vision of Christian discipleship. Cruse states his central thesis plainly with a quote from J.C. Ryle: “‘Would we know what kind of people Christians ought to be? . . . Then let us often study the Sermon on the Mount . . .’ Wise counsel, and the very aim of this little book” (11).
His goal is to refamiliarize Christians with the Beatitudes—not as poetic slogans—but as the essential shape of Christian character. The Beatitudes reveal what the citizens of Christ’s kingdom already are and what the Spirit is actively forming them to become.
The Book’s Pulse: The Problem Might Be Me
Cruse begins with a piercing question: “When the world seems messed up, could the problem actually be me?” (9) That line alone captures the heart of this book. Instead of diagnosing “the culture,” Cruse diagnoses the disciple. Instead of fueling outrage, he directs Christians to look inward with humility—the very posture Jesus blesses.
One of Cruse’s most perceptive insights comes early: Christians are often tempted to respond to cultural pressure by running, blending, or fighting. But Jesus proposes a different path altogether—believers are called to pursue the paradox of the Beatitudes (15). These are not unattainable ideals for so called “radical Christians,” but are Spirit-wrought virtues to be embodied by Christ’s people.
A People of Holy Paradox
Cruse presses the point that holiness is the Christian’s greatest gift to the world: “Here is the ultimate paradox for the people of God: It is the simplest things that God uses in the biggest way. Living a holy life, though a far cry from glamorous, is nothing short of glorious.” (144) Holiness shines and blesses. Holiness is not cultural withdrawal—it is cultural witness. As Jesus declared: “Let your light shine before others . . . so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:13–16).
Cruse’s array of citations—Vos, Ryle, M’Cheyne, Pink, and others—enrich the argument and give the book devotional weight. They paint a portrait of a Christian whose words and works are seasoned with salt (Col 4:5–6), whose loyalties are shaped by a kingdom not of this world (John 18:36).
Across the chapters Cruse argues:
- The Beatitudes reveal the essential shape of kingdom character.
- They expose our worldly instincts and reorder our spiritual compass.
- They declare God’s objective blessing upon those who follow the cruciform path.
- They display Christ himself, who embodies every Beatitude perfectly.
- They orient believers to present discipleship and future glory.
Every Beatitude becomes both a mirror and a promise: a call to repentance and a comfort for pilgrims.
A Needed Word in a Noisy Age
No review can avoid the cultural pressures Cruse gently engages. In one of the more controversial lines, he critiques the rise of aggressive Christian posturing: “Still other believers have proposed that the days of winsome witness are long past and that now is the time for action and retaliation. . . . The world must be conquered for Christ—and by force” (10).
He is right to name this danger. Social media in particular has created cage-stage Christian nationalists whose zeal outruns the Beatitudes. Cruse calls Christians back to a spirituality shaped not by cultural conquest but by the theology of the cross.
If there is any critique, it is that Cruse engages Christian nationalism only briefly. Given its growing influence, I wished for a bit more expansion. This is not a flaw, merely a desire for more.
Where Cruse Fits Among Other Works
Cruse’s book sits comfortably alongside works on the Sermon on the Mount by Martin Lloyd-Jones, Sinclair Ferguson, and John Stott—but with a contemporary pastoral tone. Where some treatments become overly academic, Cruse keeps the Beatitudes close to the Christian’s everyday experience.
What makes Paradox People valuable is its combination of: pastoral clarity, devotional sweetness, cultural sobriety, theological precision, and brevity.
There are many books on the Beatitudes, but few so readable, so timely, and so grounded in Reformed spirituality.
Pastoral Strengths
Three features make Paradox People richly useful. First, its pastoral usefulness: Pastors can preach from it, small groups can study it, and Christians can savor it devotionally. Second, its clarity and accessibility: Cruse writes simply without being shallow, doctrinally without being dense, convicting without being crushing. Third, it provides a needed reorientation: When many believers assume the problem is “out there,” Cruse gently points inward. The Beatitudes become the cure. Holiness, Cruse reminds us, is not glamorous, but it is glorious.
Cruse’s Concluding Encouragements
The book ends with pastoral tenderness:
Be encouraged that God knows how to care for the world that he has made and advance the kingdom that he has established . . . this is the path for faithful witness in a crumbling culture. . . . May we all . . . set our sights as high as holiness. May God make us as holy as saints on this side of glory can be, and as useful as would bring Him honor . . . be encouraged that when you do live this way, it will never be in vain. (152)
These lines alone are worth the price of the book.
Conclusion
In short, Paradox People teaches that the way up in Christ’s kingdom is down. The path to glory always passes through a cross. True cultural witness is not achieved through domination but through discipleship—through meekness, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and joyful endurance. This is how Christians become salt and light again.
Cruse’s book is for laypeople, new believers, seasoned Christians, and pastors alike. It is refreshingly accessible, theologically grounded, and spiritually invigorating. In a moment of rising Christian nationalism and cultural triumphalism, this book is a tonic—restoring the church to the spirituality of Jesus and the paradoxical beauty of the Beatitudes.
Would I recommend it?—highly. It is a much-needed voice calling us back to the King whose kingdom is not of this world, and to the beautiful paradoxes that mark his people.
©Anthony Faggiano. All Rights Reserved.
Jonathan Landry Cruse, Paradox People: Learning to Live the Beatitudes (P&R Publishing, 2025)
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Anthony Faggiano
Anthony Faggiano is an elder in a URCNA congregation and holds a BA in Theology from The Master’s University. He writes for the Reformed Dogmatika blog, focusing on Scripture, the Reformed confessions, and the solas of the Reformation. He is married and has two adult children.
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