A
Comparative Review
Grace
is a word that is bandied around the church. It was a word that I
heard growing up, but somehow I had missed its real meaning. In the
years following my conversion, I missed its meaning. In the four
years I spent in a seminary education, I missed its meaning. In ten
years of ministry, I missed its meaning.
It was not until I realized just how
broken I was that I finally understood a bit about the meaning of
grace. As Charles Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it
was the worst of times.” I was in tears about half of the time as I
finally saw myself as God saw me, and I was living in joy for the
other half of the time as I finally realized who I was in Christ.
Part of that process led me to two
books that helped me to better understand the meaning of Grace. The
first was Dr. Paul Welter's little gem,
Learning From Children
(Tyndale Press). The second is still a favorite of mine, Charles
Swindoll's The Grace Awakening (Thomas Nelson Publishing). I
read both books as part of a course on
Counseling Skills for the
Helping Professional offered at the University of Nebraska at
Kearney. Though neither was an assigned textbook, I was allowed to
read them in preparation for an oral book report that was required
near the end of the semester. I remember walking into the classroom
that evening with a tape measure and beginning to measure students.
Some measured up, some did not. Of course the point was that there
was no point in measuring my fellow students or in their measuring
me. In fact there was no point in bringing a measuring tape to class.
For, as I said at the end of my report, “Grace is not a measuring
stick. I don't want to waste my time measuring others, I won't let
them waste my time measuring me, and I won't waste my time building
measuring sticks.”
That was all over 20 years ago.
This past month two other books on
the topic of grace became available for review. Two well-known
Christian authors have recently written books on this theme vital to
one's faith. Though the lessons are similar, Lucado and MacArthur
both approach the theme of Grace from different perspectives. Lucado
approaches Grace from the heart; MacArthur approaches Grace from the
mind. Of course each tackles the subject from the perspective that
they know and understand and communicate with the best. Yet both
views are necessary – for ultimately grace will bring changes to
our hearts, to our minds, as well as to our souls.
Lucado uses a series of stories and
biographical sketches to introduce and to assist us in understanding
the meaning of Grace. Stories come from Scripture (e.g. Ruth and
Boaz), literature (e.g. Jean Valjean from Les Miserables), the
current news (e.g. Victoria Rovolo's disfigurement when a frozen
turkey was thrown into the windshield of her car), and Lucado's own
life (e.g. his own heart surgery). There are others, but this gives a
glimpse of the kinds of stories that Lucado has used to convey how
grace has been or can be lived out in the believer's heart. Some may
not be as appreciative as others to Lucado's narrative approach to
Grace.
The stories are only part of what
makes this book valuable. The last third of the book is composed of a
study guide that could be used by either an individual or a group in
grappling with the topics presented in the book. Kate Etue has
brought together scripture, thought provoking questions, and further
content to add additional value to the book.
I liked Lucado's approach to Grace –
it touched my heart as I read and reflected on the importance of what
he said. More than once I was in tears as read how God's grace had
reached into another person's life or reminded me how that grace had
touched my own life. There were times, as I finished a chapter, that
I found myself putting down my Kindle so I would have time to process
the emotions I discovered as I read. This book is not for the person
who is fearful of their own feelings – but it provides the
opportunity, if one is willing, to explore the many ways God shapes
and works in the believer's life.
As said earlier, that while Lucado
touched the heart, MacArthur sought to demonstrate that same grace to
the more rational individual. This is not to say that Lucado
dismisses the rational believer, but that the two writers compliment
each other. They both describe the same grace – but the
presentation each makes will appeal to different audiences. MacArthur
abundant use of scripture to make his points throughout the book make
his monograph appealing to the theological part of my life. In fact
Mac Arthur’s theological approach must be recognized as a
thoroughly reformed presentation of grace. Whether one is reformed or
not, it is recommended that Mac Arthur’s book be read in order to
grasp a 21st century statement of the classical reformed
theology of grace. This recommendation comes from a writer that
decidedly does not abide within the reformed church.
In the past, I have often noted that
I am a somewhat strange mixture of right and left brained thinking.
With degrees in chemistry and computer science, most would argue that
I am clearly left-brained. But when one knows I also have graduate
degrees in ministry and counseling, one might conclude that I am
clearly right-brained. The advantage of reading both the Lucado and
MacArthur texts is that both sides of my personality were assisted in
understanding grace and that grace could become a much more
well-rounded concept to this reader.
In some ways, one might argue, that
grace is neither an aspect of the heart or the mind. Rather, it must
touch the soul to be effective. For some the route the soul is
through the heart; for some, the route to the soul is through the
mind. Both Lucado and MacArthur have something to say to the church –
they have something to say that we must hear – both individually
and corporately. Pick up these books and allow God to speak, first to
you, but then to your (i.e. to the) church.
_______________
This
review is based on free electronic copies of the books provided by
the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions
expressed are my own.
