Title: The Romance of Grace
Author: Jim McNeely III
Book Information:
- Publisher: Vox Dei (2013)
- ISBN: 9781935961970
- Page Count: 148
How did I get this book: A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.
Review: Grace. In the Christian community, there tends to be much more material about what it isn't as opposed to what it is; Grace has been made out to be more of a scandal than a romance. However, Jim McNeely III tackles this subject head on and with a fresh approach in The Romance of Grace.
"The kingdom of heaven is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls, who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46)
This book starts off with a Princess Bride movie reference, which is fantastic, and then it gets deep real quick, "Like Buttercup, we have a great lover who saved us and has promised to come for us. Yet we treat His love like garbage, as though it were nothing...our greatest sin is that we give up true love. We fall short- not of our obligations, but of glory." (pg. 12)
"Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives." (Romans 3:23)
There are also multiple perspectives discussed here in delightful detail:
The Human Perspective: The Kingdom of Heaven as Treasure
The Divine Perspective: The Kingdom of Heaven as a Pearl Merchant
The Romance of Grace sufficiently conveys how important we are to God, and also gives one of the best definitions for the term 'Grace' that I have ever heard:
"God, by His own initiative, likes us. There is none of this nonsense about "loving but not liking" with God. In fact, He is extremely taken with us, to the point of sacrificing all else to have us. We are not battling an attitude in God in which He is constantly ready to condemn us and reject us, ever focused on our flaws and shortcomings. Rather, He sees something wonderful in us. He has dealt definitively with our flaws, sins, and shortcomings because He wants these things completely swept out of the picture. He is excited about us. We are greatly loved, even as we presently stand. God has joy over finding us! It was from joy over it that He sold all that He had: "Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2-5)"
Is it possible to say enough good things about this book in only one review? Regretfully, I don't think so. Just know that I gave it a strong five stars for very good reasons, and that you should go grab your own copy as soon as possible to find out why.
"The kingdom of heaven is like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a dealer in search of fine and precious pearls, who, on finding a single pearl of great price, went and sold all he had and bought it." (Matthew 13:44-46)
This book starts off with a Princess Bride movie reference, which is fantastic, and then it gets deep real quick, "Like Buttercup, we have a great lover who saved us and has promised to come for us. Yet we treat His love like garbage, as though it were nothing...our greatest sin is that we give up true love. We fall short- not of our obligations, but of glory." (pg. 12)
"Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives." (Romans 3:23)
There are also multiple perspectives discussed here in delightful detail:
The Human Perspective: The Kingdom of Heaven as Treasure
The Divine Perspective: The Kingdom of Heaven as a Pearl Merchant
The Romance of Grace sufficiently conveys how important we are to God, and also gives one of the best definitions for the term 'Grace' that I have ever heard:
"God, by His own initiative, likes us. There is none of this nonsense about "loving but not liking" with God. In fact, He is extremely taken with us, to the point of sacrificing all else to have us. We are not battling an attitude in God in which He is constantly ready to condemn us and reject us, ever focused on our flaws and shortcomings. Rather, He sees something wonderful in us. He has dealt definitively with our flaws, sins, and shortcomings because He wants these things completely swept out of the picture. He is excited about us. We are greatly loved, even as we presently stand. God has joy over finding us! It was from joy over it that He sold all that He had: "Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2-5)"
Is it possible to say enough good things about this book in only one review? Regretfully, I don't think so. Just know that I gave it a strong five stars for very good reasons, and that you should go grab your own copy as soon as possible to find out why.
About the book: What if God sees us the way a man sees a woman he is infatuated with, and His main question is not how to make us moral but rather how to get us to fall in love with Him? In The Romance of Grace, Jim McNeely explores Bible passages that tell us what God really wants for us and what His love means. This is the love of a God who chose to give His life for ours, even carefully retaining His scars into the throne room of heaven and telling us in His very body, “I have gone to great lengths and great costs to say that I forsook all comforts for the love of you.” Join Jim in his exploration of life in God’s unconditional, redeeming, amazing grace.
About the Author: Jim McNeely is a teaching pastor and elder at Dakota Creek Christian Center in Blaine, Washington, where he lives with his wife, Betty, and their four sons. Formerly president of New Century Data, with clients such as Lockheed Martin and American Airlines, he now works as a programmer and database administrator in the health care industry.
Cool Extras:
Praise for The Romance of Grace:
“It is time, as Robert Farrar Capon put it, to get drunk on grace. Two hundred-proof, defiant grace. That’s what you get here in Jim’s book. You won’t see a list of qualifications, and you’ll get no “footnotes.” What you’ll encounter isgrace unmeasured, vast and free. It will frighten you and free you at the same time.” —Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and author of Jesus + Nothing = Everything
“So often we turn our faith in Christ into a forcing mechanism, which doesn’t work in any event; and if anything, produces disillusionment or hypocrisy. TheRomance of Grace is a prophetic book. I believe that unless we heed its call, to put grace absolutely without condition and frontally as the be-all and end-all of the Good News, we will lose completely, and not just in “the eyes of the world” but in the failure of well-intentioned religious lives that tried to love and never knew how.” —Paul F. M. Zahl, author of Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life
“In The Romance of Grace we are confronted with a truth that we may have previously rejected. It seemed too easy to embrace. It lacked obligation on our part and contradicted accusations we have given credence to for the majority of our lives on earth. Yet herein lies the truth—“Not that we loved God, but that God loved us.” This book will help to right the plumb line in your life.” —David Collins, author of Out of the Box, founder of Canadian Food for the Hungry International.
Great review Sarah. Thanks for contributing to the blog tour.
ReplyDeleteShaun Tabatt
Cross Focused Reviews