Book Review: Life Lessons from a Calloused Christian

Life Lessons from a Calloused Christian – a practical study of Jonah with questions By Rev. William Boekestein

Review by Rev. Paul T. Murphy, Pastor of Messiah’s Reformed Fellowship, Manhattan, NY.

This is a great little book of sermons on the book of Jonah. I must confess that Jonah is my favorite book in the Bible.  In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that Rev. Boekestein is a former member of mine from Dutton URC in Michigan. Both of these facts make it easy for me to highly recommend this gem of a book.

Though originally preached as sermons, the material has been transformed into a study guide format. All five chapters conclude with questions that make this an ideal book for either group Bible studies or for one’s own personal devotions. Additionally, because the material had been  preached, the book brims with helpful application as well as explanation of the text. The sermonic format also serves to capture the power of the story that, in Scripture, is itself cogent and compelling.

The preface to the book sets the tone by immediately relating the story of Jonah to the average person today. Both believer and unbeliever can see themselves reflected in Jonah. Hence, Jonah serves as a means of self-examination. The preface also states up front a belief in the historical authenticity of the book. Its importance is “in order to use this book as the Holy Spirit intended it to be used we must regard it as real history”. This is documented later in chapter three along with reasons why historicity matters.

Each chapter begins with the text of Scripture and ends with questions for review and further thought. Each chapter contains a wealth of helpful information condensed into easy to understand reading.

I appreciated  Rev. Boekestein’s emphasis on the evangelistic/missionary (i.e. outward) calling of the Christian. “God sought Jonah that he might bless others; that is why he tracked him down. If he has sought you, please understand it is for no other reason than that you might bless others.” (p.35) And “ if God has rescued you through a work of grace, be prepared; he has rescued you in order to work for him.” (p. 49) This strikes a helpful balance to the primary focus – lessons from a calloused Christian, i.e. we are called to self-examination (inward) and therefore see our own calloused selves in Jonah.

While there are repeated mentions of the character of God in the study, I believe the book could have been strengthened by a stronger focus on God as a missionary God. Yet brevity precludes comprehensiveness. All in all this is a profitable book on Jonah and well worth one’s time in study. Hopefully it will help readers be less calloused and more selfless in their own walk with the Lord.

Life Lessons is available from Reformed Fellowship at  Amazon.com.