Reviewed by Christine Simmons
Writing a book review is a dangerous business!
Recommending a book that others may not enjoy or respond to in the way you have is bad enough, but it’s especially dangerous to write about THAT book. You know the one I mean; the one that has you wanting to start reading it again the minute you turn the last page, the one that makes you feel the full spectrum of human emotions in one hundred and fifty six pages, the one that you can’t stop thinking about long after you have finished (even years later), and the one that is dog-eared and loved so well it is falling apart. Well, Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado is THAT book for me.
It was the first gift I received from my now husband over two decades ago and I remember reading it in one sitting. It is an easy read, as Max Lucado’s books tend to be, and one that I have re-read numerous times. Six Hours One Friday focuses on the lessons we can learn from the final six hours of Jesus’ life on earth – six hours that changed the world, six hours that proved: “your life is not futile, your failures are not fatal, and your death is not final”.
It beautifully and simply illustrates Biblical principles in an accessible way, using amazing imagery, everyday life stories and poetic language which emotes feelings of joy, amazement, sadness, grief and, ultimately, hope. It is so encouraging to be confronted with the truth of what Jesus endured on the Cross and yet to understand that it was not futile or fatal, it was the greatest act of love and sacrifice for me – and for you.
Good Christian authors write books that make you go back to the Bible and read these truths again, with a fuller understanding and acceptance of the promises made in its wonderful words. They point you to the Cross, to the victory over death and to how precious and loved we truly are in God’s eyes. For me, few books have done this as effectively as Six Hours One Friday.
It’s a book for new Christians starting out on their journey; it’s for those seeking something more than the world offers; it’s for mature Christians who may need to regain the wonder of the Cross; it’s for people who don’t read books (Max Lucado writes for non-readers); it’s for those who have wandered from God over time; it’s for people who are battered and bruised from what life has thrown at them; it’s for people from all walks of life as the stories are so relatable; in short it’s for everyone. Please read it and digest it as we look towards Easter, but if you don’t like it, please don’t tell me!
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him