Author Choi has arrayed material from the Holy Bible to assure readers that, like himself, they can find hope and rely on God to see them through life's challenges. Following an etheric and pragmatic theme throughout, he begins with "God's Creation of the Happy Life"—the biblical story of Eden and the events that took place there. God meant Eden to be a kind of heaven on earth, the name meaning "delightfulness." Adam and Eve were given the best possible circumstances to appreciate and experience that, receiving all the necessities for happiness: survival needs, security, meaningful goals, love, and self-esteem. But very early in the tale, Satan enters the picture. The result is failure and a sense of darkness.
As with other elements of Choi's thesis, real strategies are offered for humankind to confront and deal with Satan's perfidies based on faith and hope. Proof of God's blessing of hope can be found in the rainbow that followed the great flood. The turmoil in the life of Jacob was surmounted when he prayed in the midst of his despair and received his new name—Israel. The incarnation of God's son, Jesus, brought further enlightenment as to what constitutes sin and how to see the law as a source of God's love. Other lessons cited by the author explore the sense of emptiness that follows gaining one's earthly satisfactions, indicating that there is a missing element. As Choi puts it, seeking worldly success is "like drinking salty water" that will only increase one's thirst, whereas Jesus taught that he would give humankind "springs of water welling up to eternal."
In examining the New Testament's message and the visions in the Book of Revelation, sound reasoning is given to hold fast to hope: the return of Jesus, a promise referenced many times. Despite the human tendency to mistrust the future, Choi assures readers that to prepare for the second coming of Jesus, they need only "stay in the light of salvation," share the good news, and do good to others.
Choi is a highly practiced scholar of the theological truths he offers here, having been a college evangelist for fifteen years, a U.S. Army chaplain for twenty-one years, and having had his own highly traumatic life experiences that revealed to him even more clearly the purpose of Christian faith and hope. This book, which is mated with a version in the Korean language, combines religious heritage and understanding, employing frequent scriptural quotations with a plethora of pragmatic examples with which readers will readily identify, such as dealing with depression, confronting personal and/or national fears, making mistakes at work, facing painful childhood memories, and rejection based on race.
Numerous sections throughout this informative text include a segment entitled "For Reflection and Discussion," offering thought-provoking questions and further references. His open, intelligent approach will encourage readers to share Choi's work and their impressions of it with others, both those of a like-minded bent and those in need of the special Christian guidance that Choi offers in a manner both intellectually satisfying and emotionally and spiritually enlightening.
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