In His Image

March 26, 2018
Wilkin (None Like Him) challenges Christian readers to seek God’s will by doing more than simply praying in this heartening yet perfunctory book. She explains that Christ followers can understand God’s plan for their lives by becoming Christ-like in character: “For the believer wanting to know God’s will for her life, the first question to pose is not ‘What should I do?’ but ‘Who should I be?’ ” She then presents 10 of Christ’s qualities that one should strive to perfect, imploring readers to become more faithful, good, gracious, holy, just, loving, merciful, patient, truthful, and wise. Each chapter is devoted to one attribute that she grounds in biblical lessons before explaining how its qualities can be translated into everyday life. Her suggestions, however, are often less helpful than her scriptural exegesis. For instance, she suggests that finding holiness is a “process of acclimation” that she compares to remembering to take off shoes when going inside, and that “earthly love” needs to be rejected in favor of “agape,” which itself can only be inspired by God’s example of unconditional love. Readers will enjoy Wilkin’s friendly style, which makes many biblically robust sections easily understandable, but will be disappointed by her advice.