Grace : More Than We Deserve Greater Than We Imagine by Max Lucado
I don't think we really understand the word grace. I know I didn't. I thought of it as something you say before you eat, a pretty girl's name, an adjective describing someone's personality or ability to do something. What is grace? What can it do for us? Max goes into great detail in his book with typical Max style.
Grace happens in big and small ways everyday. Max's book is full of examples. He describes biblical examples such as Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery, and the ungrateful servant who went and threw a man into debtor's prison for a small debt owed right after the king forgave his enormous one. He also gives examples of modern day people. People like you and me going through things that we may be going through too. People like Victoria Ruvolo, the Amish in Pennsylvania whose daughters were killed by gunman Charles Carl Roberts, and Max Lucado himself who describes times when he was given grace by those around him and God.
On the back cover of this book several questions are asked: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? and my favorite: Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? Grace is God given and it never ends. It is abundant and overflowing according to several versions of 1 Timothy 1:14. It is sufficient for us, for in our weakness He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9).
I really enjoyed this book and as an added bonus it has a discussion guide in back so that you can use it as a personal devotional or a group study. I always enjoy Max Lucado's books because he brings a unique God-given perspective to godly subjects. But the point in all of his books is this: God wants us. He is so desperate to have us in his family, to be with Him and fellowship with Him. He went to the extreme to give us a way to overcome the sin that separates us. To cleanse us from that sin, He sacrificed His son. Because of this cleansing, He floods us with love and grace. We only have to accept Him and He will fill us to overflowing until we are drenched in His love and mercy and grace.
One more point to make and it is this: If God is so very gracious to us, should we not be gracious to those around us? Whether they are deserving or not, because we certainly are not.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
