It
has been twenty years since Sittser's wife, mother, and daughter were
killed by a drunk diver, as told in A Grace Disguised. In the
years that followed, Sittser began to ask what redemption really
meant, given his unwanted circumstances. He tells his story as a way
to explain and explore the theme of redemption. He sees his story as
a witness to the truth that God redeems our stories through His.
Sittser
dares us to surrender ourselves to God. God will take our story and
integrate it into the great story of salvation. God reclaims us and
restores us to a living relationship with Him.
Sittser
shows from the Bible how smaller stories, like ours, fit into the
larger story of God, and how they give us encouragement. God's
redeeming work uniquely fits us for a special work of God.
Sittser
now has the ability to look back over the two decades and see how God
has been and is working in his life and those in his family. He has
recently remarried. He has seen his surviving children grow and
leave the house. He has seen how God has used the harsh conditions
in his life to shape him, redeem him, and claim him for His own. We
are encouraged to have the trust that God is doing the same with us.
Sittser
wishes he could promise, as fairy tales conclude, that we would live
happily ever after. In the very end, in heaven, that will be true.
But now, God is still writing His story. We are still in the midst
of it. We are still having our character defined and virtues
established as the Author writes our story.
Sittser's
book is encouraging because he writes from experience. He has
struggled with God's redeeming work in the midst of pain and
suffering.
His
strong faith in understanding his place in God's story is
encouragement to us.
Jerry
Sittser is Professor and Chair of Theology at Whitworth University.
Married to Patricia, he is the father of three children and two
step-children, all grown.
Zondervan, 240 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book for the purpose of this
review.
No comments:
Post a Comment