What do you see when you look through biblical stories and the relationship between God and man? Do you see a judgmental God eager to bring down the hammer on erring men, or do you see a loving father painfully wading through the errors of man and their inevitable consequences as he works on his master plan to save humanity and once again be reunited with his children?

A Tear of Joy A Tear of Sorrow is an attempted expository look at the scriptures from God’s perspective using evidence from the same scriptures. The author traces the display of God’s love and his experience of sorrow through the defining moments in the scriptures, right from Adam and Eve’s fall. This shows that God wasn’t a passive bystander and he was involved all along, demonstrating his love while persevering through the pangs of pain man’s actions and their consequences caused him. The author takes biblical accounts and examines them based on their immediate context and in the context of the entire scriptures, peeling open the layers to reveal insights about God’s consistent character throughout history.

What’s interesting is how the book points out the often-overlooked personal sacrifices God had to make in defining moments such as the expelling of man from Eden, the flood, and the disbandment of the congregation at the Tower of Babel. It also looks at how these events worked together to keep man on the path to true redemption. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking interpretation of Bible stories people may have gotten too familiar with to properly appreciate. The narrative structure of the book makes it easy to read and keeps you engaged. It also reflects thoughts that are very well put together and, given the topic, digestible.

If you want answers to some pressing questions like how God could allow tragedies like the flood to happen or why he’d even allow Adam and Eve to be tested in the first place, or just why he allows anything untoward to happen to those he claims he loves, this book may give you some. It provides a different way to look at the stories beyond their superficial details.

Works like this are generally considered to be highly opinionated but some opinions are worthy of attention. A Tear of Joy A Tear of Sorrow is an enlightening read that I would recommend to readers looking for a refreshing look at scripture.

Pages: 283 | ASIN : B089HWK493