She Treads Softly: Grace

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Grace

Grace: A Bigger View of God's Love by Randy Alcorn

Harvest House: 7/1/16
eBook review copy; 224 pages
ISBN-13: 9780736967464

Grace: A Bigger View of God's Love by Randy Alcorn is a very highly recommended daily devotional which focuses on God's grace.

"Because of Christ’s work, God’s door is always open, his supply of grace always overflowing. May we remember each day just how desperately we need the grace of Jesus. Because of his freely given grace, we have every reason for gratitude and happiness."

Grace features 203 daily meditations that begin with a scripture verse, followed by brief thoughts from Alcorn, and conclude with inspirational quotes. Alcorn says, "I hope you’ll spend time meditating on the brief reflections, great quotations, and Scriptures in this book. God promises that his Word 'will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it' (Isaiah 55:11)."

The short (1 page or less) devotions have a natural built in versatility. The brief meditations in this daily guide can be the impetus for further reflection and memory work, or a quick daily reminder of how we need to accept God's continued grace and how much grace we have already received from Christ. They may be short, but there certainly is much that can cause further reflection and study.

Because I received this as an advanced review copy, I didn't have the luxury to use Grace as Alcorn hoped it would be used - as a daily devotional - but rather had to read it quickly. The good news is that I can now go back and reread the passages, memorize verses, and reflect on the daily messages.

We all need grace. I still reflect on a message I heard years ago: "It's been said that learning to respond gracefully to ungraciousness is like learning to play the piano....if you didn't encounter people who treat you ungraciously, you'd never have the opportunity to learn to practice grace of your own." Alcorn's devotional can help us all reach that point where we can practice grace of our own because of the grace God has extended to us.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.