Book Review
Michael Card
The Parable of Joy: Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of
John
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Michael Card, Christian music's "resident theologian" of well
over a decade, calls his fourth book an "exercise of the imagination."
Card has studied the gospel of the Apostle John, the "disciple whom
Jesus loved," for over 20 years. Here, he seeks to bring the 1st century
world of John to the 20th century reader; he seeks to create a sense of
"being there." This is accomplished by pointing out countless
seemingly insignificant details, then digging deeper to see why it is that
John may have included these in his writing. The point is simply that John
was an eyewitness and was able to provide hints and clues as to what Jesus
Christ was like and also what it was like to live and walk with Him.
Each chapter has three sections to it: the Scripture itself, study notes
for the text and then thoughts and feelings about the text. Card has translated
the book of John himself from the Greek. He attempted to stay as close as
possible to the original wording, shying away from contemporary expressions
and tone. The study notes, conveniently located at the bottom of each page,
offer profound historical and cultural insight into the passages, yet do
so in a thoroughly understandable manner, for which Card should be commended.
The final section of each chapter finds either a character within that particular
story offering a first person account of the happenings or simply features
Card's own thoughts and reflections on the passage.
Though the book is profoundly insightful and extremely detailed, it never
becomes a cumbersome read. Card has a unique ability to relate deep spiritual
and theological truths in relatively simply wording, thus making this book
suitable for all adults, young and old alike.
Max Lucado may have summed it up best when he wrote in his endorsement statement,
"What Michael has done with his music, he now does with his pen."
Indeed, and we are that much better off for it.
--Michael Ciani
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