Jesus Calling

Each daily meditation in Jesus Calling is a direct narration from Jesus Christ to the reader.

Wait, what?

Yeah, you heard that right. Or at least, that's the way Sarah Young writes her devotional thoughts, and last time I checked, Sarah Young and Jesus are not the same person.

Before you accuse me of being too harsh, consider this statement from the introduction: "I decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I believed He was saying. I felt awkward the first time I tried this, but I received a message. It was short, biblical, and appropriate. It addressed topics that were current in my life: trust, fear, and closeness to God. I responded by writing in my prayer journal. My journaling had changed from monologue to dialogue....I have continued to receive personal messages from God as I meditate on Him."

According to Miss Young, God speaks directly to her and she writes down what He says. Her disclaimer that these sessions aren't inspired the way Scripture is inspired falls flat—if God speaks directly to someone and that person writes down what He says, it's Scripture whether they want it to be or not. Unfortunately for Young, Hebrews 1:1-2 and Revelation 22:18-19 make it clear that the canon of Scripture is closed, and Christians are to rely on the already written word for guidance and instruction.

Besides, if these messages from God are personally tailored, as Young asserts, what use are they to anyone else? Why does she presume to write in Christ's stead messages that were intended for her and her situation? This is an unresolved tension that renders essentially meaningless anything she writes from "Christ's perspective."

It's a very, very dangerous thing to claim one's words are from Christ unless the speaker is entirely certain that they are. Young herself in the passage quoted above evidences uncertainty as to the origin of her messages ("whatever I believed He was saying"), thus rendering them vacuous at best, and pernicious at worst.

Instead of reading a series of devotionals supposedly spoken by Jesus yet not inspired the way Scripture is inspired, why not read the words in the Bible that are certainly His? We've opted not to sell Young's book, and would encourage our customers to look elsewhere for devotional sustenance; the works of Oswald Chambers and Charles Spurgeon are still a good place to start.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.