This was an interesting book. After having let it sit unread on my shelf for many years, I decided to [finally] read it. I would say it seeks to answer the question of what it might be like if Christians followed/believed/loved God with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength. It also questions why God's power is not revealed and we do not see Christians doing 'greater things than Jesus' that Jesus promised would happen in Scripture. It is divided into three parts; at the start of the second act, we see this verse from the Book of Acts: "As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by." [Acts 5:15 NIV]. It is filled with crazy miracles and simple faith. At the end, Bill Bright discusses how many of the miracles in the book are common in the Third World. So perhaps the lifestyle that we in America value so highly merely gets in the way of the spirit-filled life that God wants people to have through Jesus. The miracles in the book were crazy to read; I found myself saying, 'If only it were true! If only it could happen!' as I turned the pages. Yet people were healed by Peter's shadow passing over them. It also discusses people who have lost loved ones when God did not give them the answer they wanted to their prayer[s]. It is a hard thing to consider, as to why God would answer 'no' to somebody being healed or being raised from the dead, but neither did He respond when His own Son hung from the cross just before Jesus died. We will not always get the answer we want from God, and it is not easy. I have to admit, I did kind of 'see' [foresee] the ending of the book. It was going to have to be something very 'climactic' what with the way the book had been moving up to that point. At the same time, I cannot say that the ending 'took away' from what the authors had to say. One could say it was a predictable ending; at the same time, the overarching message of the book would have to be one of wooing believers [and even non-believers] to experience the power of God as described in the book.I 'enjoyed' the discussion between a prominent televangelist who was dying and Caleb [the 'Blessed Child']. The televangelist had the option to be healed by Caleb, but he declined. The preacher's reasoning was that he would soon be in Heaven with his Savior - why would he want to put that joyous meeting off any longer? It was an interesting, albeit powerful, perspective, I think.In closing, I did feel like it had good character development in the story. It had quite a range of characters in it, for being as short as it was. I could not help if Caleb were written from Dekker's perspective as a former Missionary's Kid encountering Western Civilization for the first time.I think the book is also a challenge to Christians to seek first the Kingdom of God, so that they might experience the life-changing, fulfilling power as described in Scripture.I enjoyed the book.
Spell MAGNIFICENT!It's this book! Oh my, no words can express how I was so touched and inspired by this!I recommend it to Christians and especially non-believers, who are always questioning God's power in anyone's life. You must read this besides the Bible! The story is very interesting because of the protagonist's mysterious characteristic. Caleb, is a blessed child truly, as he have the Holy Spirit within him and that's what makes him blessed and can perform miracles beyond human understanding. Jason and Leiah became his true protector/guardian aside from Father Nikolous, Greek Orthodox priest.Through Caleb and Dr. Thompson, they truly had sought God, because of Caleb's connection with Him.Jason and Leiah's life is an example of many non-believers today who always seem to question God for what has happened to their life. But with their encounter with the Lord, they have awakened from a deep slumber and their eyes were opened to the truth, that Jesus is Lord and there is forgiveness in Him. I can't tell much because no word can describe how God is so powerful and compassionate to all of the people in the world, that through the Holy Spirit, we can, not just see the kingdom of God but to walk through it.My favorite quotes that made my heart feel joy:"Whoever said that a straighten hand was more dramatic than a healed heart?" - Dr. ThompsonEven though Caleb can perform miracles, it's still far away from the value of a healed heart through God."Because you know that everything you've seen comes from God. All the good things, anyway. Dadda told me that we shouldn't look for the praise for men" - CalebWe do not become Christians just because we attend church services and doing good deeds but we can call ourselves Christians if we are in complete obedience with Jesus and with the blessing of the Holy Spirit, for we cannot see the kingdom of God unless we are born again.(John 3:3)"But believe me it's the eyes of the heart that need opening. That's the real miracle-to understand His love for you. To love Him." - Jason MarkerIn particular the heart is the place in which the process of self-consciousness is carried out, in which the soul is at home with itself, and is conscious of all its doing and suffering as its own" (Oehler).You cannot see and feel God's presence in your life if you don' open your heart to Him and letting go of all yourself. God loves us constantly.Thank God for Ted Dekker and Bill Bright for writing this great novel.Glory to our Father!This book is an instrument used by God aside from the Bible to spread to everyone that in Him there is forgiveness, there is hope, peace, joy and love. Only God can love us unconditionally. I hope everyone who reads this will have an enlightenment whether you are a Christian or not, God will do amazing things in your life beyond your expectations. God bless us all and Glory to our Father in heaven who created all things on purpose for a purpose :)
What do You think about Blessed Child (2013)?
First of all: I won this from a goodreads giveaway for free. Now that is out of the way, here is my room.I never read a Ted Dekker book before this, a friend recommended other books by him though, so I wasn't sure going into this what his writing style was about nor what it was about.Ii was pleasantly surprised by this book. I knew it was a Christian book, and it's extremely obvious from beginning to end, but I felt that it wasn't as overly "religious" as it could have been. It was clear that this book was sending a message and it seems easy for many to say that he was just advertising his religion, well it is a book with Christianity at it's base so that was obvious, but it is a good message for those who are unsure, interest, or need help with their faith. It definitely got me thinking constantly about mine.It was easy to get attached to all the characters, especially Caleb, and found myself caring especially about him more and more. It's an extremely good read. I loved the writing style and voice. The story was extremely slow at first, it took me 100 to 120 pages to get into it, but once I stuck with the book I was rewarded greatly with a very fast paced read. It was perfect with political intrigue, religion, and mystery. Loved watching all the characters grow. What I loved seeing the most was that Caleb always going back to his faith when he faltered. Overall it's a very very good book and would recommend it to anyone.
—Lauren
This is quite simply one of the absolute best books I have ever read. Five stars doesn't do it justice. I was a little skeptical going into it; I had just finished another Ted Dekker book that pretty much soured my expectation of what his books should be (this is my 20th book of his, and that last one was the worst). But THIS...this is just phenomenal. I don't want to give too much away, but just READ IT!! Seriously; you won't be the same afterwards. It really, really makes you think; and it really makes you want to be the kind of Christian who walks in the Kingdom like Caleb did.
—Kristy
One of the underlying arguments throughout the book was where Caleb's power came from (psychic, God, devil) which led back to whether there is a god and if there is whether he would give people power like Caleb's. In the book even within the Christian community there was conflicting beliefs about where his power came from. Some people thought it was god, others like Caleb's legal guardian Father Nikolaus believed that it was psychic power from his mind. In this book there were also a lot of interesting characters. I thought these were especially interesting because they all were struggling with something. The character I thought was most interesting was Caleb; the innocent, ignorant,compassionate Ethiopian/American boy seeing western civilization for the first time. He kept struggling with sin which in his case was watching TV. He dealt with it by praying and self-discipline.His protector Leigha is a Red Cross nurse who has burn scars all over her body from a car accident. The whole book she deals with shame over her burn scars and tries to convince herself that she doesn't need help and will be able to get through it on her own by putting on a tough front. Although ultimately it's asking for help that gets her through it. I most relate to her struggles because I like to be able to do things right the first time and try to figure it out instead of asking for help.Also, the Orthodox priest, Nikolous who exploits Caleb's power to try and gain money for himself and believes - despite that he is a priest - that Caleb's power is psychic. He just skipped the struggling and threw everything he might have once believed as a priest to the wind by exploiting Caleb. His eventual downfall is his uncaring and greed.
—Josh
