Book Review: If Only

posted in: Book Review, Identity, Jesus | 0

Book Review: If OnlyThis is a short review, partly because it’s of a short book, and mostly because you should probably read the book.

Contentment isn’t a denial of our problems, a lack of ambition or an end of hope… Christian contentment is the fruit of the joyous discovery that whatever our circumstances, Jesus is better by far

This is the core of the message of this excellent little book, which TGBC kindly sent me a review copy of. The author threads her own story of coming to terms with ‘if only I could have a husband…’ throughout the book – but as a ‘young married’, I found myself resonating with this as I pondered the ‘if only…’ things in my own life (flippantly; better car, faster 5k time, etc).

This is a short and readable book, and Jennie’s writing is a joy to read. It’s also peppered with real-life stories from people with different ‘if only’ desires. The way the book uses the Bible throughout is also good – reading it carefully and sharing it generously. This is also an honest book – I was personally struck by the authors own account of being short – that engages meaningfully with some of the hard questions of God’s call on our life. It’s one thing for me, a married younger person, to nod in agreement. It’s another for someone later in life (the author isn’t old, but older than me!) to have this powerful testimony and message of the sufficiency and joy of Jesus.

I’d recommend this book to you, if you are a Christian who has ever thought ‘if only I…’. If you aren’t a Christian, you’d probably appreciate the book, as it shows and tells how Christians understand Jesus, in terms of the ‘personal relationship’ aspect of our faith.

 

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