This is my first Mark Batterson read. Absolutely loved it! It is a provacative, creative and exegetically stimulating use of the life of King David. More than that, Batterson creatively spoke into my life. Two things stand out to me (that I needed to hear):
First, "There has never been and never will be anyone else like you. But that isn't a testament to you. It's a testament to the God who created you. You are unlike anyone who has ever lived. But that uniqueness isn't a virtue. It's a responsibility."
Far from the typical self-help mumbo jumbo Batterson focuses our attention on to God. To know who I am is secondary, to know whose I am and for what purposes he has created me...THAT'S PRIMARY!
Second, "The wrong decisions you have made, no matter how devastating they have been to you and to others, don't have to define you. Not if God's grace is still in play, God's grace has a way of turning what seems like final mistakes into single mistakes. And He'll even redeem those mistakes and turn them into defining moments that help you discover new dimensions of His grace."
My sin does not define me rather, God's grace does. What an amazingly elementary yet profound thought! I have grown up in the church and yet never had that explained to me so simply. I am on a grace journey that leads me deeper into God. The deeper I go the more amazed I become at who God is and that HE would love me, and love me enough to have a special name and unique purpose for my life.
God has placed within me a unique soulprint that he is developing. My responsibility is to understand my soulprint and then allow him to use it to full fill his purposes. Highly recommend this book for all seekers after God who want to be uniquely used to accomplish the purposes of God for their lives in their generation.
(I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
