Off the wall?

THE INSANITY OF GOD
A true story of faith resurrected
By Nik Ripken (pseudonym) with Gregg Lewis
Broadman & Holman. 322 pages. £9.00
ISBN 978 1 433 673 085 (also as ebook)

This is a remarkable and powerful book. It tells the story of an American couple who served as missionaries in Somalia until their son died of an asthma attack at age 16.

Their faith was shaken to its foundations, not only by the loss of their son, but as they reflected on the course of their ministry. Their efforts to bring compassionate relief to Somalia seemed futile. The prospect of making any impact with the gospel seemed utterly hopeless. There were only 40 or 50 Somali believers in the whole country and they faced the threat of death for their faith. What was God doing? Is God capable of overcoming the intense spiritual darkness and hostility of that land? And how can faith survive, let alone flourish, in such a place?

These questions led the author to travel around the world, visiting believers who had experienced severe persecution. How did their faith survive? What is the Lord doing in such places? As the book unfolds, we are given wonderful insight into the testimony of suffering believers who have come through the fire of opposition in the USSR, in China and in strict Muslim countries. You will be brought to tears, and to your knees, as you read of the depth of suffering of believers in these places, but uplifted as you read of God at work in their lives in remarkable ways.

Transformed faith

The author’s faith began to be revived: more than that, transformed. He jettisoned his old easy assumptions that the Lord will keep us ‘safe’ from trouble, and that he will grant ‘success’ to faithful servants. Rather, he learned that God uses persecution and suffering to refine faith and godliness. In China, the church leaders referred to prison as their ‘seminary training.’ It is in the darkest places that Jesus shines brightest. These persecuted believers knew Christ, and valued him far more because of their suffering.

We are prompted to give thanks for the many freedoms, privileges and advantages we enjoy and too often take for granted. But more than that we are reminded of the incomparable value of Christ who is worth far more than any wealth or comfort in this world. So we are called to give ourselves unreservedly to his service, without fearing the cost, or lack of ‘success’. As the author says, it sounds crazy, but it is ‘the insanity of God’.