During our recent blizzard in Plymouth, I took the time to reorganize the books I have to review. One of the books I discovered—to my great joy—was Arms Open Wide by Sherri Gragg. I’d been searching for that book for several months in order to meet my reviewing commitment.
As I was reading the thirty-five devotions in the book, the beautiful word pictures Sherri created brought me to near tears several times. The beautiful words transported me back to when our Lord walked this world and interacted with the people around Him. The devotion entitled “The Light of the World” enraptured me. My husband and I teach a small group study on a weekly basis and have been teaching the Book of John. We’d just taught the lesson to which this devotion refers (John 8:12-20). I had researched the Feast of Tabernacles and the lighting of the four candelabras in the Court of Women at the end of the festival. Because I’d “been” there so recently, the words came alive with special meaning.
“Light represented both the pillar of fire that had led their fathers in the wilderness as well as God’s shekhinah glory. The rabbis taught that God wrapped Himself in light as a garment that could not shine by day lest it dim the sun. His divine light was that from which the sun, moon, and stars had been kindled, and it was now reserved under the throne of God for Messiah when He came . . . a few days later, Jesus of Nazareth stood in the temple courts and raised His voice: ‘I am the light of the world, Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” How grateful I am that He has shone His light into my life!
Sherri has said that Scripture never lived for her as it has since she visited Israel at age forty-one, and “was introduced to the concept of interpreting scripture through the cultural lens in which it was written.” Roy and I teach that one must consider the times in which scripture was written, but Sherri takes us there.
I guarantee you will be blessed reading and meditating on these exquisitely-written devotionals. Arms Open Wide is one book I will keep and often re-read . Thank you, Sherri! You can learn more about Sherri and her writing at http://www.sherrigragg.com.
I thank Thomas Nelson Publishers for giving me a copy of Arms Open Wide in exchange for my candid review.