As a part of my service
to you I occasionally agree to review books that I think might be helpful for
some of you to read. This month’s
offering is another great book by Ed Welch, this time he writes on the topic of
shame.
Shame is prevalent in our
lives today, more than most may recognize.
Whether you have been shamed by someone else, or vice versa, this
undeniable heart issue can get the best of anyone. Dr. Edward T. Welch, in Shame Interrupted: How God Lifts
the Pain of Worthlessness and Rejection, has provided a piece of art that
takes shame, with all of its ugliness, and brings it out into the light where
truth can take root and overcome.
Dr. Welch challenges his
readers to join him on a journey that first exposes shame from the deepest and
darkest of shadows, then takes the reader to the Gospel, to the very One who experienced
the ultimate shame for our sake, and ends with the revealing hope that our
Savior and the Word of God have to offer, cleansing and righteousness.
What this book does not
do, is disregard the real severity of shame and its hindrance on all of
creation. Ed Welch says it best himself,
“Since
the common contains both the clean and the unclean, we can simplify it this
way. The universe exists in three categories: unclean, clean, and holy. Our goal is to get clean, stay clean, and
then set our sights on the holy. The
holy can be intimidating, but only when we enter into that realm can we have
true fellowship with God. Whether we
know it or not, that is what we truly want.
We aim to be holy and enjoy the presence of the Holy One. That is the deepest answer to the problem of
shame.” (p. 75)
This book is a must read
for anyone struggling with shame, and most likely that is everyone, at one time
or another. It is a book that I will
pass on in the days to come and it is a resource that I will personally call on
from time to time.
No one should have to
live in the disgusting depths of shame because Jesus Christ already paid that
price and Dr. Ed Welch offers all willing partakers 325 pages of biblically
sound insight into a future free from such brokenness.