BRINGING HOME THE PRODIGALS
By Rob Parsons
Hodder & Stoughton
116 pages. £6.99
This is classic Rob Parsons! Human, punchy, emotional and shot through with godly wisdom.
It is for those concerned about family members or friends who have drifted away from following Jesus. But as Parsons correctly points out: 'The great problem with the church in the Western world is that half the prodigals are still in the pews. It's true that our wrongs may not be as easy to see as those of others, but in our hearts we know that we are far away: The boy in the parable wasted his life in riotous living - we are eaten away by bitterness; he wasted his money; we hoard it; he gave his body to prostitutes - we sacrifice our mind to pornography'.
The role of the church (and that's you and me!) in driving others away from Christ is emphasised but so too is the need to shed unnecessary burdens of false guilt. Above all, the life-changing power of forgiveness is demonstrated both from the Scriptures and the many emotional and powerful personal testimonies that illustrate the book. There are also several Bible passages and suggestions for meditation.
This will deservedly be another best-seller and I heartily recommend it. My only quibble is the price; £6.99 for 116 pages is a bit steep even for Hodder.
