From Good to Grace... subtitled "letting Go of the Goodness Gospel" This is what the whole book is about. Come with me as I tell you a bit more about this book with lots of questions, some answers and a new way to look at how to live out one's faith. :)
This whole book is based on the need to talk to God more and to listen to our thoughts and personal expectations of what it means to be a Christian less. We need to LISTEN to God more than we listen to ourselves or our companions, mentors, leaders and such like. Knowing God more helps us to live as God calls us to more easily with less expectation of meeting the needs of being a "GOOD" christian. God doesn't want our goodness, he wants our faith.
From p. 33 "The most important and life-giving thing we can do as followers of Christ is to consider what God wants for us as presented in the gospel and to ask the right questions of the right Person. "
The book is divided into three parts
1. Good, Bye
- Obsessed with Goodness
- The most important things
- you can't go back again
- Receiving his Love
- Receiving his help
- Receiving his freedom
- Love Shows
- Giving Grace
- We Hope
Our knowledge of our sin, our knowledge of our deep need for God and what his son did dying on the cross. Our need to believe in God and his action on our behalf. THIS is what is important.
How we live out our faith is what is important in our conversation with God. Pray more, talk less with others. We need to ask of God "what does he want for me?"
We need to remember we can make ourselves grow spiritually... GOD is responsible for that.
I can't say i read every word in this book as i read quickly.... But there were whole sections where I slowed down my reading because it was like God was speaking to my very self.
On Page 44 I was challenged with this question: What if i lived as if the gospel were true every hour of every day? How would that change things?
I was left wondering how do I teach my son to live by grace? Then this sentence popped up "and by the way you can't do this. Only the spirit of God can do this in you, so ask him to do it."
I did question this statement. "This is why we often find churches full of bitter people ...this is a sign of people who have never come to understand God's grace and love for them personally ...... cannot extend it to others" p. 156. I guess I don't like what seems like a blanket statement like this. There can be all sorts of reasons for why we find hurting churches. I honestly haven't met a lot of churches filled with bitter Christians. So I just struggled with this section. Do some churches (and some people) struggle with understanding the depth of God's grace upon our lives? For sure! I know this for myself! It's hard to grasp and is I think, I continued journey.
I loved her point about we must each live out our own faith and not compare it to others. Jn 21:22. His goal for us is unity not uniformity. The more we live within grace the more we show Christ.
Should you get the book?
I think so. It's definitely worth a read and helps you think through the why of what you do and how you might be changed by God if you approach things differently.
Discussion questions at the end of the book help you think through the questions raised. I would MUCH prefer those questions being posted at the end of each chapter rather than at the end of the book, but everyone has their own style and it doesn't detract from the material itself. :)
Book: From Good to Grace: Letting Go of the Goodness Gospel
Author: Christine Hoover
Publisher: Baker Books
Pages: 217
Format: Non-fiction, Discussion questions at end of book
Reviewed for: Nuts about Books