“Arms Open Wide” by Sherry Gragg (a Book Review)

“Arms Open Wide” by Sherry Gragg is an appealing book for several reasons.  It is a smallish devotional-type book that physically looks quite nice, with a hard cover and thick glossy paper.  In addition, the format of the book is concise.  It is a well-organized collection of familiar Bible stories about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Each chapter begins with an Old Testament scripture (often prophetic) related to the New Testament story covered in the chapter.  Before the author relays the story, she asks the reader to read the actual New Testament account of the story.  Then she interprets the Bible story as an “eye-witness account” with details that take into consideration the times and cultural background of that era.  Finally, each chapter ends with a short prayer related to the scripture covered. 

 

“Arms Open Wide” takes the reader through the ministry of Jesus, death, and resurrection in a logical manner that illuminates many of the major stories of the Gospels.  Some people do not like details being added to Scripture in this fictional-type of account.  However, the details added by the author are primarily to give a general idea of how it might have felt to witness the Biblical events.  The added details do not change or detract from the Bible account, and I did not detect any historical errors (although I am not an expert in this area).  

 

Truth be told, I am not particularly fond of devotional books.  However, this one is interesting and the writing is nice.  The stories as told by the author give some additional nuance to the Bible stories that many of us have read dozens of times.  But, I believe that the book would work best for a new Christian who may not know these stories well. It would be an especially appropriate gift to an individual who made a recent commitment to Christ.  The fact that the author directs the reader to the scripture first, heads off any concern that a new Christian might not know the fictional account from the true account.  Even so, the Bible stories as told by the author are very close to the scripture and do not add any theological or interpretive material that would change the meaning of the Bible stories. 

 

***I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”