I've seen this author's books before but have never read any of them. I've posted her quotes from her various novels on pinterest and facebook and probably even this blog, but this is the first book I've completed by her. It was about the concept of mercy. It was excellent!
Anne is a Christian author.......and she writes about rediscovering mercy....and how we can too.
She tends to incorporate not just Biblical references and parables, but also Jewish traditions and theology as well as some from Far Eastern religions. Some times it seems in her books that she is not a Christ follower and obviously I don't know her heart nor is it my place to judge her, but some of ther statements left me wondering where exactly she stands in her relationship with Christ. She definitely knows her Scriptures though and she definitely seems to have some kind of relationship with God. I do not like that she refers to God in the feminine nor do I agree with that...the Bible is very clear that God is FATHER, SON, and Holy Spirit.
Other than that though, it is a good read.
I love her personal testimony and personal anecdotes about things she has observed all over the world, particularly Africa, in regards to people groups showing and living mercy and grace.
Here are some quotes that resonated with me:
"Mercy is radical kindness......Hallelujah that in spite of it all, there is love, there is singing, nature, laughing, mercy."
"Christ's love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole" (originally said by Frederick Buechner)
"The path away from judgement of self and neighbor requires major mercy, both giving and receiving. Going without either of them leads to fundamentalism of all stripes, and fundamentalism is the bane of poor Mother Earth." (I LOVED THIS!)
"To have borne broken hearts and seen such broken lives around the world is what gave us a shot at becoming mercy people."
She also has a section about the Samartian woman and Jesus (the woman at the well) and what this means regarding mercy. It's excellent!
The ending of the book revolves around the account of Ruth and Naomi in the Bible, mainly concentrating on Ruth, and then on Joseph and his brothers and what mercy looks like regarding Joseph forgiving his brothers. Quotes that impacted me from this section:
"Mercy began as forgiveness......forgiveness and mercy mean that bit by bit, you begin to outshine the resentment. You open the drawer that was shut and you take out the precious treasures that you hid there so long ago....."
"things that grow are what change everything. Moments of compassion, giving, grief, and wonder shift our behavior, get inside us and change realms we might no have agreed to have changed."
I do recommend this book...it made me thin and reflect on some of my own memories, both good and not so good, and the Lord used this book to show me that I often don't extend mercy nearly spontaneously enough to the people I am closest to!
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
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