Path of Life is an exploration of joy for Christian living. It could also be described as an introduction to Christian faith and life, using joy as a teaching tool, with a special effort to connect with a postmodern world in a relevant and winsome way. Path of Life draws from biblical sources, as well as from theologians and Christian thinkers past and present, to craft a fresh (and yet ancient) vision of life under God. Path of Life agrees with Aquinas" insight that the person who is "deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasures," and sees its tragic fulfillment in our own day with what Thomas Oden calls a commitment to narcissistic hedonism – making an "idol of one"s sensuality, body, and immediate pleasures." In Path of Life, author and leader, Rick Howe, seeks to help guide our generation away from its self–centered sensualism and "back over" to joy – which, he believes, is the highest and best of the pleasures of life, and the one pleasure that embraces all of the healthy pleasures of life in an intimate relationship with God. Path of Life is arranged in three parts. Part One explores the nature of joy, helping the reader appreciate its many nuances, the ways in which it connects with the heart"s deepest longings, and its power to affirm and integrate all of God"s good gifts. Chapter 1 sees it as the highest and best of all pleasures, and traces its relationship to other pleasures in life. Chapter 2 explores joy as the consummation of happiness, and Chapter 3 explores the many ways in which joy enriches and fulfills our emotional life. Part Two puts joy at the center of our understanding of God. It is Trinitarian in focus, with chapters on the joy of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Ours is a God of joy who invites us to enter into his life of joy. Jesus modeled this joy. The Holy Spirit empowers it in our lives. Part Three introduces the reader to the ethics of joy. The heart of this section is an exploration of joy and virtue ethics. Virtue (Christ–likeness) is central to God"s design for life, and joy is central to the cultivation of virtue. Joy is our highest good, and the sign of a life well lived. It is also a command from God. Joy is normative for us in God"s plan; the absence of joy is abnormal or deviant. Really! The final chapter in this section addresses the accusation that pursuing joy in a world filled with calamity, poverty and injustice is morally irresponsible. On the contrary, joy does not lead us to withdraw from the world in order to draw near to God: it compels and empowers us to costly involvement in God"s world for his glory and the good of others, venturing into situations of suffering and injustice with the expectation of meeting the ever–present God (the God of our joy and the joy of all) there.