God's Story - Anne Graham Lotz

Subtitled, Finding Meaning for Your Life in Genesis, this introduction to the creation of the Earth and the history of mankind, as told in the first eleven chapters of the Bible, is written by the daughter of world evangelist Billy Graham. Her previous book, The Vision of His Glory, based on Revelation, the last book of the Bible forms a companion to this book, but God’s story can be enjoyed for itself. I am now interested in finding a copy of the companion book to complete the series.

Published in 1997, God’s Story is a chronological meditation of the Scriptures revealing Him through four sections as, Your Creator, Your Father, Your Saviour and Your Redeemer. Her introduction poses the question ‘Who was the eyewitness to Creation?’ answering this by saying God Himself. The prologue, based on Genesis 1:1-3, sets the scene for what follows and is invitingly entitled, The God You Can Know. Concluding the book, notes to the Scripture references and other published works referred to, plus comprehensive explanations of theories about Earth history, provide additional reading material. I found this section extremely helpful, often referring to it as I progressed through the chapters and then again on completion.

But this is not a book focussing on scientific creationism; it is an invitation on a journey through the history of mankind and our relationship with Almighty God. Anne Lotz uses many personal and contemporary examples to illustrate her points. Her teaching is rooted in everyday living covering the full spectrum of the state of the human heart and our capacity to know, or ignore, the living God. Throughout, she challenges the reader with numerous questions, elongated sentences and multiple statements around the same topic, often presented on the page in creative layouts, breaking up the solid text to use diagonal indentation and drawing the eye across, down and back over the page. Generally, I found this technique helpful, but there were times when this was repeated, sometimes twice on one page, which I found slightly inhibited the fluency of the text. However, this is not a book to be read quickly, it is to be pondered over, allowing the Holy Spirit to highlight areas where the reader recognises the need to deepen their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

Anne Lotz skilfully draws together parallel topics and similar themes running throughout the Bible, leading the reader gently from emptiness to completion, revealing the purpose and power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Her extensive understanding and knowledge of the Bible’s teachings, reveals Jesus’ presence before the foundation of the Earth, His involvement with the Godhead at Creation and His function as Saviour and Redeemer, right through the history of mankind on the Earth. She repeatedly encourages the reader to assess their spiritual state, by reflecting on fruitfulness in different areas of life, thereby provoking a peeling back of the layers of self centeredness and allowing more of the riches of Christ to penetrate and build a strong foundation.

I found this a great read, full of insights and perspectives which both challenged and comforted, causing me to deepen my communion with the Lord.

Highly recommended.