Book Review: "Found in Him" by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Photo courtesy of Crossway.org

We all desire acceptance and belonging. It’s a natural yearning that God has placed in us all. Much of what we do in life from our earliest days as a child through to adulthood can be a result of this natural yearning. Ultimately, God desires we discover that only He can satisfy this deepest need.

But what is so special is that God yearns for relationship with us. Found In Him provides a wonderful outline of what God has done to demonstrate His yearning in giving us His Son. But more significantly this gem of a book is a tremendous guide to understanding how we can find acceptance and belonging in Him.

The book is broken into two parts. The first covers the Incarnation. Fitzpatrick outlines in some detail how Jesus was like us. He was a child who did what children do. He lived intentionally as a child so he “veiled his omniscience”. He had to otherwise he wasn’t living as we did. That was his intention: to live as a human lives. That way he was able to replace us as on the Cross. Up until His baptism, Fitzpatrick contends “He didn’t get any special perks or supernatural privileges, like us He walked by faith, not by sight.”

Fitzpatrick walks through Jesus life to demonstrate His humanness in this first part and then leads us into the second part where she reflects on our union with Christ. She opens this section stating that Paul’s letters mention our being “in Christ” thirty-three times highlighting it is a central theme of much of the New Testament.

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.” (John 14:23). The Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus.

I don’t think I’d really ever thought of God’s love like that. I am loved as Jesus is loved. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Fitzpatrick lingers on the analogy of a wedding, the motif of which is strong throughout the Bible. The church, that is, His people, is His bride. And Jesus was our wedding gift.

The final chapter and in fact Appendix 2 (make sure you read this Appendix) draw it all together. There is nothing more we need to do but rest in the knowledge that we are wonderfully adored and loved by our Heavenly Father. How do we do that? Spend time with Him and do what He says. Like any great relationship, time and giving of ourselves is how we find true connection and comfortableness.

This book needs time so read it slowly and stop frequently to meditate and talk to God about points that are presented. It is bathed in Scripture and Fitzpatrick makes reference to many other scholars who have written about “oneness” with Christ.

If you struggle with acceptance and a sense of belonging I’d encourage you to grab this wonderful book.

Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel, Angelguard, was released recently in US, UK, Canada and Australia. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter