Fruitfulness on the frontline
Mark Greene, IVP, 208 pages, £8.99
ISBN: 978-1783591251
Star Rating : 3
Perhaps due to the modern English idiom, I struggled to easily get into this book. However, once overcoming that, I began to appreciate the purpose of the book, as conveyed by the title word, ‘frontline’. What does the term mean? Simply, where I am at the present time.
We often look for fruitfulness being expressed through an overseas missionary call. Some of us have had that privilege, but for most the ‘frontline’ is to be found where we live now. That is where our work is done and where we can anticipate fruitfulness.
All that we do, wherever we are, matters to God. The most mundane action can bear the fragrance of Christ. Fruitfulness results from godly and righteous living, sometimes through suffering. Our attitudes in every area of life and through every event are intended to bring glory to the King of kings.
The thrust of this book is to challenge every reader to use the gifts that God has given in the places where we are. We may be surprised to find that something we have said or done has been fruitful in someone else’s life.
The author begins every chapter with one or two relevant quotations. He ends each chapter with ‘questions of prayerful reflection’, plus a prayer.
Philip Grist
Abingdon