Next Door Savior
Near Enough to Touch, Strong Enough to Trust
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
We applaud men for doing good things.
We enshrine God for doing great things.
But what about a man who does God things?
One thing is certain. We can't ignore him. If these moments are factual, if the claim of Christ is actual, then he was, at once, man and God.
The single most significant person who ever lived. Forget MVP. He is the entire league. The head of the parade? Hardly. No one else shares the street. Who comes close? Humanity's best and brightest fade like dime-store rubies next to him.
Dismiss him? We can't. Resist him? Equally difficult. Why would we want to?
Don't we need a God-man Savior? A just-God Jesus could make us, but not understand us. A just-man Jesus could love us, but never save us. But a God-man Jesus?
Near enough to touch. Strong enough to trust. A next door Savior.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
If Christian publishing phenomenon Lucado has been criticized for anything, it's for repeating the same basic themes in his books: Christ, his death on the cross and the grace and forgiveness offered to those who follow him. This latest doesn't deviate, but somehow manages to make these themes crisp and compelling. The essays, each built around an episode in the life of Jesus, are often unabashedly poignant, at times humorous and always hopeful. Lucado's unique retellings cast Jesus as a compassionate personal friend who isn't put off by anyone's past mistakes. In one essay, Jesus urges a reluctant Matthew (the tax collector) not to ditch his old acquaintances, while Matthew argues "But Jesus, these guys... half of them are on parole. Josh hasn't worn socks since his Bar Mitzvah...." A reach-for-the-hanky story portrays Jesus as "The Trashman," willing to take the burdens of others on himself. Throughout this book as he has in others Lucado explores the paradox of Jesus as both fully human and fully divine: "Midwifed by a carpenter. Bathed by a peasant girl. The maker of the world with a bellybutton. The author of the Torah being taught the Torah." Lucado clearly portrays God's love, forgiveness and concern about the smallest details, "for even though he is in heaven, he never left the neighborhood." Solidly grounded in Scripture, drenched in the trademark Lucado anecdotes that have endeared him to legions of fans, this book may be his best in a decade.
