Okay, I was hoping I would've finished this book 2 weeks ago, but that didn't happen. This book is a fairly easy and quick read words wise. It took me about 2.5 hrs to read at a comfortable pace.
However, though an easy read, the message is very power. I like how the book is structured. There are 10 chapters, each about 10-15 pages. Somehow reading this as an ebook allows me to finish books faster than if I had the actual physical book.
This book really convicted me, challenged my thinking and perspective on things regarding my own walk with God. The authors touch on 10 different topics: 1) The Abundant Life, 2) God's Dreams for Our Lives, 3) Generosity, 4) Love, 5) Grace, 6) Freedom, 7) Commitment, 8) Community, 9) Justice, 10) Hope.
There was not a chapter that I did not see where I needed improvement on from where I am to where God possibly wants me to be. I've been learning about God's Justice and I got a bit more enlightenment with what the authors talked about. Justice is really finding the root cause and fixing that, rather than band-aiding a situation. That was such a good description and I can see where I've had that tie to God's Justice my whole life and didn't realize it.
Then, the topic of Grace, which I thought I understood, but I didn't as much as I thought. Though I knew some brief stuff about the Assyrians, what I did not know was that Ninevah was an Assyrian City. What the authors talked about made a lot of sense and gave me a much better understanding of Jonah's attitude here. Grace is undeserved favor and what was impressed most in this chapter is that it is undeserved, meaning there is nothing we can do to earn it. So, even with the people who commit the most atrocious crimes, they can be forgiven, too. Doesn't seem right, does it? Grace.
I didn't keep track of which author was writing or not, but since there were 2 authors for this book, Jon and Darren, they would identify who was writing. That was helpful. The whole book contained Biblical stories as well as the stories of either their own personal stories or that of other people. They were all very poignant and impactful in conveying their points.
The use of the word "Rumor" is something that drew me in, as if I have a choice to believe it or not, or at least I should investigate it more to see if the "Rumor" could be true. So, there is a level of ownership, if you so choose to answer the questions that are posed. Very cool of the authors. A very well thought out book.
This would be a good book to do in a small group and there is a section at the last part of the book that is a guide that allows you to do this.
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