You Who? book review
This is one of the most important books I've read in awhile. It is important because it tells the truth. Truth is hard to come by these days. Everything seems so murky and theologically fuzzy and Christian women need the sharp truth of God's Word to pierce through all of that nonsense and speak to our hearts. You should read this book - the sooner the better!
Rachel Jankovic had me from her opening statement..."Perhaps I should open this book with a warning. If you are looking for a book that will gently pet your bangs and soothe your worried brow, telling you how beautiful you are, this is not it."
Pet my bangs? That made me smile. She goes on to say, "The goal of this book is to encourage and equip believing women to see their identity in Christ as the most essential part of them, and to see all the ways that will work its way out in their lives, manifesting itself as strength, dignity, and clarity of purpose."
Rachel studied philosophy in school and normally I shy away from philosophical types of discussions because they can often feel like endless circles of words that never lead to any action. I'm an action type of girl myself. However, I found her teaching about various philosophers and the theories they introduced into the world to be very enlightening - helping me to understand how it is we came to believe and behave certain ways as a culture - and sometimes - as a church.
For example, the culture tells us that if we keep laying down our lives for others we will lose "ourselves" but this is just not true. We are hidden in Christ and therefore the more we obey Him and draw near to Him, the more we become our true selves. Does that make sense? If not, she explains it much better than I'm doing here...
Don't let the philosophy scare you away because there are a lot of practical applications and a treasure trove of quotes that you will carry with you long after you finish reading. Here are a few of my favorite gems:
"But contentment and gratitude, some of the smallest seeds, grow some of the biggest trees. These are some of the wildest forces for change in this world. Contentment says to God, "Where You put me, I will honor You. Where You send me, I will go. Where You are, I will be glad."
"humans are made to be traffickers in glory. We bring glory, we give glory, we reflect glory. But we are terrible receivers of it. We cannot hold glory because it was never meant for us."
"For the Christian, the question of "Who am I?" is actually just another way of asking "Who is He?"
"The Word is alive, and it knows what to do with you even when you don't know what to do with it."
This book is rich but not overly chewy. It might feel like a bit of a departure from your usual summer book selections but it is very readable. "You Who?" is timely and important and I'd love for you to pick up a copy today! You can thank me later :)
And if you missed my last "must-read" book review, I've included it for you here...
The title was intriguing, but the content exceeded my expectations! I inhaled this book in less than 24 hours! I expected to gain insight into the heart and life of a Christ follower who struggles with same-sex attraction, but I was surprised to gain so much insight into my own temptations and sin patterns and how I can fight them with the gospel.
I know what it is like to love sin and to feel that it is life-giving when in fact it is a path that leads only to death. God has used this book in my heart. It is beautiful and honest and will help you to grieve your sin and love your Savior. Pick up a copy today!
Here are few of my favorite quotes…
“Sin, when in the body, cannot stay put. It’s not a guest that stays in one room, making sure not to disturb the others. It is a tenant that lives in everything and goes everywhere. It can bleed into every part, choking out anything holy.”
Yep. And this…
“I was holistically in need of God. But even still, I didn’t know Him too well. Didn’t know if when I laid my heart bare before Him, and emptied its contents of every form of safety and love I’d ever known, if He would be large enough to fill it up again. I knew that He’d fill it with Himself; He was too jealous of a God not to do so. But would all that He is be enough? What He called idols had been a kind of joy for me. In Him, would I find a better one? Or perhaps, would He not merely give me joy but would He be my joy?”
Isn’t that what it always comes down to? Do I believe there is enough goodness in God to satisfy my heart?
“The ultimate aim of the gospel is the display of God’s glory and the removal of every obstacle to our seeing it and savoring it as our highest treasure. “Behold your God!” is the most gracious command and best gift of the gospel. If we do not see Him and savor Him as our greatest fortune, we have not obeyed or believed the gospel.” – John Piper
