Highly Recommend
The main principle upon which the book is based is very simple. “It is direction–not intention–that determines our destination” (p. 14). This is an eminently practical principle for helping us focus the spiritual direction of our lives. It dovetails very well with Jesus teaching about the narrow way versus the broad way in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 7:13,14). Andy Stanley illustrates liberally from his own life experiences in a very readable fashion. This makes the book easy and very pleasant to read as well as very instructive.
Chapter 9 is a corollary to the main principle of the book. This corollary is that what gets our attention determines our direction. A key verse is from the teaching of Jesus, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matt. 6:22-23).
One of the very best chapters in the book is the last one, called “Road Closed.” In these pages Andy tackles the huge question of how to handle life when there is no way to get from where we are to where we want to be. Sometimes a decision we have made, a decision someone else has made or a circumstance beyond our control that we can’t blame on anyone has altered our life’s destination in ways that are hugely disappointing and in ways we can no longer change. What then? “Sometimes it is the destinations that are out of our reach that create the circumstances God uses to remind us that we are never out of his reach (p. 159).”
I highly recommend this book. Since it relatively short, easy to read and is a no-nonsense and also a common sense type of book, I believe men will like this book. It would make an excellent small group study. There is a 25 page chapter by chapter study guide at the end of the book to assist with this. I used the book as a key source for a sermon series that was blessed by God.
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