My Design vs God's Design
Book Review of The Blueprint of Grace by Bob Allen
This is a review of Blueprint of Grace by Bob Allen1. If you’re interested in reading more about my philosophy towards writing reviews, you can check that out here.
Earlier this year, the woods and fields behind our house were impacted by what some might describe as "an Act of God." Rain began to pour one day—a fairly typical occurrence here in the UK, as you might imagine—but this rain persisted day after day, leading to rising floods that reshaped the landscape we knew.
Familiar paths disappeared, leaving us with new and unfamiliar terrain. We attempted to adapt, seeking out new paths and navigating our new environment, however; One day, we found ourselves returning to the old paths, even though they were submerged shin-deep with water. We strapped on some wellington boots and waded through the shallow ponds, because despite the challenges, those familiar paths were comfortable and familiar.
Our lives as Christians can be like this sometimes, we’ve been hit by an "Act of God" being saved by his grace, and yet, after experiencing that grace and finding our identity in Jesus, we often find ourselves reverting to old habits and paths that we once walked before we were saved.
Maybe you’ve found yourself on such a path recently, let me encourage you to take a moment to look around. You'll see footprints all around you left by those who've walked this path before. One of the sets of footprints belongs to a man named Bob Allen. Instead of giving up when finding himself on that path again, Bob turned to God, and having done so his new book helps to show us the way back to the light.
However far we’ve strayed down the wrong path, it is never too late to repent, to turn back and walk towards the Way, the Truth, through whom we have eternal life.
How do we know when we’ve strayed though?
Signals and Signposts
A few weeks ago I was returning from a walk after a strenuous day, and my watch started to buzz, telling me to sit down. It knew before I did that something was wrong.
So how did it know that that was the case?
Well, when I first bought the watch I inputted some data; I told it how tall I was, how much I weighed, my age, and essentially what had happened was that on the way home my heart rate had gotten so high that it determined "Something's wrong! Sit down, you need to take a rest," More fundamentally, it asked me, "Do you have any health conditions?" and "If not, maybe you should go and consult a doctor."
Now, I do have health conditions; I have a problem with my spine that affects all sorts of other things in my body, which my watch knew because, based on the the general parameters about somebody my age, and my height, and my weight, the way my body was acting wasn’t correct.
When we’re on the wrong path buzzers and alarms might be going off around us that we’re ignoring or unaware of. Being part of the body of Christ is one of ways God uses to direct our attention towards those signals, both in our local churches but also through faithfully written literature like Bob Allen's book, "The Blueprint of Grace." Whilst this book is full of introspective insights, these are secondary to the vital task of looking beyond ourself to ask God what he has to say not the matter, and then to look together at what it means to get back, to get right with God.
This isn’t a book directed at those of greater or lesser maturity, either, whether you've been a Christian for five second or fifty years, we all have a proclivity to walk down the wrong paths, to trespass upon land that doesn’t belong to us, but the enemy.
Throughout the book, Bob emphasises and repeats some key messages, challenging us to reflect on the struggles that we face and seek deeper understanding of what led us there and who will lead us back. To be clear, when I say that he repeats these things, I don’t mean that pejoratively. These truths are difficult to internalise, but they are essential for personal spiritual growth.
I believe that "The Blueprint of Grace" provides an opportunity to deepen your understanding of yourself as a Christian, God's plan for you, and the ways in which God's love, Jesus' sacrifice, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit empower you to live according to God's blueprint, rather than your own.
I encourage you to pick up "The Blueprint of Grace" and to repent of those common sins you struggle with.
Grace and Peace,
Adsum Try Ravenhill
I was sent the eBook in return for an unbiased review.