No Limits

His Father’s Son by Autumn Macarthur is a sweet contemporary Christian family tale. It is the first book in the Sweetapple Falls series.

There are many godly themes and lessons to be learnt. A major one is forgiveness. “True forgiveness has no limits.” We forgive because we are forgiven. Sometimes we do not live forgiven because we find it hard to forgive ourselves. We all make mistakes but to drown in the ‘what if’s, the guilt and the anger is not healthy. “She’d been angry and fighting for so long.” We were never meant to carry these burdens. We need to give them to God.

We all have a past but “My past isn’t who I am now.” Our past sins are all covered in the grace of God if we will just let Him in.

Life deals us blows. Trust becomes harder if we wall up our heart. “It was safer not to love and trust. Everyone died or left you.” We need to demolish the walls around our heart and let others in. We can trust God with our lives for He is good no matter what our circumstances. “Wait. And trust in God’s perfect timing.”

The novel is hard hitting and realistic. Life is not always good. People do have awful childhoods. Themes of abuse, alcoholism and drugs are tackled. The reader’s heart breaks for the child whose mother “loved drugs more than she loved him.” We understand that once addictions grab a hold, they are hard to break. “Her addiction ran her life.”

We all have choices to make. God does not punish us for our choices, this is flawed theology. Sometimes life is just hard. Having a child with muscular dystrophy is not a punishment. This reminds the reader of the words in the NT where Jesus is asked “who sinned? This man or his parents?” Jesus replies that neither did. The character with muscular dystrophy is a joy to behold. He does not let his condition hold him back. Even though the simplest tasks take effort, he enters fully into life without complaints.

Autumn Macarthur has presented another fabulous story. She is not afraid to tackle gritty real life issues. We all have choices to make in life… sometimes we choose wisely but not always. Life is about responding to the hand we have been dealt. We can choose God and life or we can let life get us down.

His Father’s Son is a wonderful read with characters that will warm your heart and soul.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON