I am a reader. There is no denying my love for books – real ones, with paper and ink. Books help me understand God and my world and myself, and every so often one comes along that clarifies everything about life. I love sharing book recommendations with others, especially when one rocks my world in powerful ways.
I was recently given the chance to review Unfinished, the newest book by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision U.S. I read his first book, The Hole in Our Gospel, a couple of years ago and had high hopes for the newest one. When I received one free to review from the publisher, I was even more excited.
I was in no way disappointed. This book has already made its way into the elite category of books on my shelf that I want to re-read. I want to read it again for two reasons: 1)There was so much good stuff in it that I know I’ll discover something new upon reading it again, and 2)I want to remain as convicted as possible about the things the book discusses.
The premise of the book is relatively simple. Stearns says that as those who believe in Christ and follow Him with our lives, we have a job to do. We spend so much of our time and energy looking forward to His return and wondering when it will be, Stearns says, when the real question is about what we should be doing in the meantime…and of why Christ left this earth in the first place.
Using compelling statistics and personal stories, the book is really a call to action. It’s one of those books that tells you a lot of things that you may or may not have already known, but it does it in a way that makes you want to actually do something about it. As I told my husband, “This book makes me want to be a better disciple. It makes me want to act.”
The most powerful part of the book, to me, was toward the end when he draws a parallel between the work of Christ on the cross and a modern-day battlefield. I won’t give away the illustration, but it changed the way I saw everything about my life. It made me want to do my part in this unfolding story God is writing, and excited me about some things my husband and I are embarking on together. (More about that coming soon….)
If you say that you are a follower of Christ but feel like you should be doing something more in your day to day life, I would recommend this book as a guide to help you find your place in the body of Christ. If you are dissatisfied with your walk with the Lord, wondering why you don’t feel as whole and fulfilled as you expected, this book may show you why. If you are not a follower of Christ but honestly wonder what the big deal about Christianity is, this book will help explain who Jesus was and why He matters very much in the world today.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for writing an honest review. I was in no way otherwise compensated for writing the review. If you would like to find out more about this book, click here.