WHAT KIND OF HOPE?
How Jesus changes everything
By Michael Ots. IVP. 160 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 1 844 746 040
‘I’m hoping not to go to heaven’ (p.20). When did you last hear a Christian saying a thing like that? The author’s reason is that heaven is ‘not the final destination’. He likens it to stopping over at Schiphol Airport en route to somewhere better.
This is one of the most thrilling books I’ve read on the true nature of ‘life-transforming’ Christian hope. Free of religious clichés and unhelpful jargon, the reader is inspired by the sheer wonder of what lies ahead. From there we are taken back to where things went wrong with our world, to glimpses of the future in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, and to the solid basis for our hope in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The reality of hell is not overlooked, nor are the objections unbelievers have to Christian hope.
The need to embrace Christian faith, and the way of doing so, are clearly explained, and the whole thing is well summed up at the end in these words: ‘We feel this world is broken because it is. We long for someone to rescue us and he has. We look forward to a day when things will be put right — and they will be’.
Written in a gripping way, with a helpful range of stories, illustrations and quotes, this book is ideal to give to a serious enquirer or a new Christian. And it has just enthralled someone who has been a believer for more than half a century.
Malcolm Jones,
Elmstead Baptist Church, New Eltham, SE London
