Book Review- His Name Is Jesus

 

I just finished reading the gift book, "His Name is Jesus" by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson Publishers).

This book was absolutely beautiful! It is a hardcover book filled with gorgeous pictures and amazing excerpts from 20 of Max Lucado's books.

This book walks you through the life of Jesus starting with His birth and ending with His legacy.  I really enjoyed reading this book because I could easily read it even if I only had a short amount of time.  It is set up in such a way that it is like reading short little stories.  And each story is full of amazing and wonderful truths about our Savior.

Here is a portion of the book so that you can see for yourself the talented writing of Max Lucado...

Maybe you've seen the classic portrait of Christ in the garden.  Kneeling beside a big rock.  Snow-white robe.  Hands peacefully folded in prayer.  A look of serenity on his face.  Halo over his head.  A spotlight from heaven illuminating his golden-brown hair.

Now, I'm no artist, but I can tell you one thing.  The man who painted that picture didn't use the Gospel of Mark as a pattern.  When Mark wrote about that painful night, he used phrases like these: "Horror and dismay came over him," "My heart is ready to break with grief," and "He went a little forward and threw himself on the ground."

Does this look like the picture of a saintly Jesus resting in the palm of God?  Hardly.  Mark used black paint to describe this scene.  We see an agonizing, straining, and struggling Jesus.  We see a "man of sorrow" (Isaiah 53:3 NASB).  We see a man struggling with fear, wrestling with commitments, and yearning for relief.

We see Jesus in the fog of a broken heart.

My, what a portrait!  Jesus is in pain.  Jesus is on the stage of fear.  Jesus is cloaked, not in sainthood, but in humanity.

The next time the fog finds you, you might do well to remember Jesus in the garden.  The next time you think no one understands, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark.  The next time your self-pity convinces you that no one cares, pay a visit of Gethsemane.  And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to him pleading among the twisted trees.

The next time you are called to suffer, pay attention.  It may be the closest you'll ever get to God.  Watch closely.  It could very well be that the hand that extends itself to lead you out of the fog is a pierced one.

No Wonder They Call Him the Savior

I couldn't give this book a proper review without inserting a bit of Lucado's writing.  He has an incredible way of painting such vivid pictures with his words.  If you get a chance read this book you won't be sorry.  It will truly touch your heart.