There are many within the tradition of Christianity
searching for a deeper walk with God. They are trying to manage a relationship
of substance and worth. Many become frustrated and distanced from the one they
long to know more. Daniel Hill has written an encouragement to those that are
looking to live “life to the fullest” in 10:10.
Hill follows the reasoning that the reason most people do
not experience “life to the fullest” is because of fear. He argues that most
people do not admit that they are struggling in this way and so it compounds
the problem. He traces the biblical response to fear through the life of Joshua
and encourages the reader to live life in “3D”. The 3 dimensions are faith and
fear, faith and intimacy, and faith and mission. These become the outline of
his book.
WHAT I LIKED
There are many wonderful points within this book. Hill walks
through the Bible and firmly roots his reasoning and guidance within the
witness of God’s Word. This book is written in a way that anyone can understand
and be encouraged by the lives of those listed for us in Hebrews 11. There is
also an attempt to get a little deeper in these passages as Hill works through
some details of these “heroes of faith”.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
As a student of the Bible there were some places in this book
where I struggled. In chapter 6, Hill claims that the rich young ruler was one
that “loved God and genuinely wanted to be obedient” (Luke 18). While I see
where he may get this assumption it is probably better to understand this man
as assuming that because he follows the law that he has a relationship with God
and is therefore suited to follow Christ. However, Jesus sees his heart and
reveals that not only is this young man not ready to follow Christ but he
really does not love and obey God. He is revealed to be an outsider regardless
of his following rules. Jesus does that.
So Hill does this a few times with passages. He makes
application his primary hermeneutic. That is dangerous and can become sloppy
writing. I applaud the attempt to encourage but if we have to loosen our grasp
on Scripture to accomplish encouragement then we have not achieved much in
reality.
CONCLUSION
Taken as a whole, this book is worth reading for someone
that is not walking deeply with Jesus and needs a little encouragement in the
right direction. It is well written but not well researched or interpreted.
That may not bother a new believer or even a struggling believer that needs
something simply to encourage them. But if you are not one of these then you
may be bothered by some of the lack of proper scholarship.
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