In "Finding God in the Ruins", Matt Bays does something profound; he takes "packaged" Christianity, kicks it off its axis, lets it roll, and once it lands declares, "THIS is how we need to view it." He leaves it messy. He leaves the pain. He leaves it raw. Rather than buff it all out by touting a few verses and saying we should now be whole and healed, he makes sure we know God is present within the pain. God isn't (or has never) turned away and avoided the moments that are the most dark. He is there. And Bays continues to drive this point home with examples from his life as well as the lives of others. A key point Bays makes in seeing how God redeems pain is when he explains the need for us to all be authentic; sharing our pain, our trauma, and allowing others to see the road we walked to find our way to God is a very powerful testimony.
I did enjoy this book for all its truth and authenticity, but I'm holding back from declaring it "amazing" for a very specific reason--as much as God is discussed within the book, the name of Jesus Christ and having a personal relationship with him is absent. If someone is not a Christian and completely gravitates & connects to this book (which is extremely likely given the welcoming & accepting writing style), the person will have learned much about God and yet not so much about coming to the Father THROUGH Christ. I know many people who consider themselves Christians, believe in God, and even pray...and yet they do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. And not seeing His name throughout the pages, nor a clear recognition of the Holy Spirit's role in the redemptive process bothers me a bit. Overall, this is a wonderful work, but I do feel those areas could have been more clearly established rather than implied.
*I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.*
No comments:
Post a Comment