15th June, 2005

CAROLE ADAMS

"Plass has a very down-to-earth and humorous way of sharing stories about his life and his walk with God which touch the heart."

The Heart of the Family
Adrian Plass
Published by Zondervan, 2003
Softcover ISBN: 0-007-13048-1

I must acknowledge that I was initially a little disappointed with this book. I have enjoyed reading the works of this author for a number of years, and was looking forward to fresh stories and insights. This, however, is a compilation of his previous works containing reflections on his, and God’s, family.

Having got over my initial disappointment however, I found I was really enjoying each chapter with its mix of true stories, fiction, dialogues, sketches and poetry, even if it wasn’t totally new to me. Plass has a very down-to-earth and humorous way of sharing stories about his life and his walk with God which touch the heart. The author’s own comment about this book is revealing. “I have the feeling that people who run perfect families will not appreciate this book. They would prefer one of those ‘how-to’ books, even though they don’t need one because they are perfect. This book, by contrast, will certainly not tell you how to bring up your family, but it might reassure you that most of us are making the same sort of mistakes along the way.”

Plass has the skill of making us smile at the lives and dramas of his fictional characters, while at the same time confronting us with the deep issues we all face as we try to follow Jesus and live in this world. There are excerpts from The Sacred Diary and The Stress Family Robinson series where Plass’ humor entertains the reader with his characters’ daily existence while gently pointing us to the underlying truths about our own reactions to situations and problems in our own lives.

There is always an assurance from Plass that God loves us deeply no matter how we feel we have failed or let Him down, and this certainty about the love of God for each one of us shines through all of his writing. The excerpts from Why I Follow Jesus and Never Mind the Reversing Ducks illuminate this truth as we share in the author’s life and walk with God, and his personal struggles with depression.

If you have never read any of Adrian Plass’s books, this one would be a good starting place. But even if, like me, you have enjoyed reading his books, this one will still move you to laughter and tears and challenge the way you think about Jesus, God, the church, and life in general. As always, this book leaves the reader with a feeling of hope - that in spite of flaws, imperfections and sins, each person is greatly loved by God and can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.