Customer Reviews

Unafraid: Mary (The Lineage of Grace Series #5)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Francine Rivers ends her wonderful "Lineage of Grace" series with the life of Mary.

In this version Mary is hardly meek and mild, but a teenage girl impatient for the coming of the Messiah. When she has Jesus, she is shocked when no one believes that she was a virgin when she became pregnant - the begining of a rude awakening. It is Joseph who realizes, as he is dying, that his stepson will be the Man of Sorrows - and Jesus' refusal to save Joseph because it's his time is Mary's first sign that things will not go the way she expected. Will she spend the rest of her life bitterly waiting for Jesus to become the awaited warrior-king and prove to the world that she didn't sleep with Joseph before their wedding?

Ms. Rivers has taken a daring risk by making her Mary a not-necessarily likable person who, for instance, can only see her children with Joseph as falling short of her expectations after having raised the only perfect child who ever lived. Herein lies the point. Up until now, the series has been admirably non-denominational. Ms. Rivers, a Born-Again Christian, deliberately makes the point that Mary was a normal person just like you and me - and in no way divine. I'm Protestant myself - and this is in fact one of the cornerstones of our denomination - but Catholics, you've been warned...

This is actually in some ways my least favorite of the series, although I see what Ms. Rivers was trying to do. Read it to complete her vision, but also try the excellent "Two from Galilee" by Marjorie Holmes, which I feel covers the relationship between Mary and Joseph better.

Aspects of this book I enjoyed:

The portrayal of Mary and Joseph's relationship. While I felt Joseph was too good to be true, I did enjoy being swept along by his constant strength and guidance for Mary as she struggled with being the mother of Jesus.

Mary's ongoing struggle between her will vs. the Lord's will. This gave me some insight as to what it may have been like for Mary. She was doubted and scorned and accused of being a liar when she claimed to be a virgin. It is human nature to want to be vindicated when falsely accused. It is a fascinating viewpoint to see her sense of urgency that Jesus reveal himself in order to exonerate herself.

Mary's struggle between her loyalty to Jesus and her loyalty to her unbelieving children. Another interesting viewpoint on the struggles Mary was bound to have when Jesus declared himself the Messiah and yet his own siblings did not believe.

Aspects of the book I disliked:

Too much time spent on Mary's "awe". Personally, I think it's a given that she would have difficulty reconciling the humanity of Jesus and the Deity of Jesus. All of the "and still she couldn't believe that this man was the Savior" stuff was trite and overdone.

Joseph is the perfect husband. Joseph, who struggled initially, becomes somehow the perfect, all-knowing, ever-strong husband after his encounters with the angel. One of Francine Rivers faults is he tendency to paint the male main characters of her books in too perfect of a light.

Jesus (I'm sorry) creeps me out. His humanity doesn't come through at all. Rivers focuses a lot on the internal spiritual struggle Mary sees present in Jesus, but does little to develop his human side (but for a few snippets where Jesus tells his siblings stories while they sit in his lap). Irreverent as it sounds, Jesus just isn't a very likeable character in her book.

All in all, it was an OK read. I would suggest checking it out from the library rather than buying it.

I was so excited to read the 5th Book the in the Lineage of Grace series. The other 4 books were true to the facts shown in the Bible and Francine Rivers added historical information as well as what might have been said between the characters.

The books made me go back to the Bible and re-read the story and in the first 4 books, I saw information, I had never learned before & I thank Ms. Rivers for that. It really invigorated my Bible study time.

However I was sadly disappointed with Book #5 about Mary. I didn't think she did the research that the other books had. Also I found a number of occasions where she deviated from what I found in the New Testament. She also left out the entire episode where she visits Elizabeth and Mary's prayer. I have read other material about what the times were like when Jesus was born, and I didn't think Ms. Rivers did thorough research this time.

I must respond though to another review. If you believe everything in the Bible is true, which I do, then Mary did have a sister (John 19:25) & she did have both sons & daughters (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 6:3). You just have to look up the references in the Bible.

I was interested to see how Francine Rivers would address the Virgin Mary. Having been raised by a father whose family was Catholic and a mother who was Protestant, these are questions at the root of faith. The only source of correct answers must not be found in opinion, but within God's Holy Word, The Bible. Look these verses up for yourself:

St. Luke 1:42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed."

St.Luke 1:38: "And Mary said, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word."

No one can dispute the fact that the virgin Mary was chosen by God because she had a heart open and obedient to Him. Regardless of how her position in society would be affected, she was willing to do as the Lord commanded her.

Now consider these Scriptures:
St.Matthew 1:23-24 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son...Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not have marital relations with her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus."

St.Matthew 13:55-56 "Then they scoffed, `He's just the carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers--James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?'"

St.Matthew 12:46 (also St.Luke 8:19, St.Mark 3:31) "Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd."

Finally, was the virgin Mary without sin? The Bible says:

Romans 3:10 As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous--not even one."

Romans 5:12 "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned."

If Mary was human, born of an earthly father and mother, she could not be without sin. Jesus was the only one who did not sin. He was without sin because of the fact that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God.
Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."

And only Jesus has the power to cleanse us from sin.
Romans 6:23"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Francine Rivers has stirred up controversy through her book about Mary. And while it may offend some, she has remained faithful to the Biblical account of what is written in the Scriptures.

Study the Bible for yourself, for God's Word is (and SHOULD be)the final authority on what is true.

Ms. Rivers portrays Mary the Mother of Jesus as an often angry, pushy and even prideful woman. She obviously has issues with Mary, Jesus' Mother. While I have another of Ms. River's books that was given to me, I do not have much interest in reading it as I feel her credibility has been compromised with the writing of this book. In addition to demeaning Mary, there are many inaccurate presentations throughout the book.

If I could have rated this with less than one star I would have. This book of Rivers is so bad that I am forcing myself to finish it (simply because I don't like to start a book and not complet it.) River's portrayal of the Blessed Mother is false and disrespectful at times. I would not recommend this book to anyone I know.

This whole series is worth reading. Francine Rivers has a talent for bringing new light and life to people God tells us about in the Bible.

The story of Mary is the first in this series that introduces the element of pure evil. Its shouts show the reader that accepting the seed of God was only the beginning of the life Mary led. She was faced with disbelief and ridicule, then her own pride and desires. The mother of God that so many deem holy was very much a woman, and yet a woman more blessed than any other. She brought forth the perfect son, yet she was very much a mother who struggled with the results. Rivers paints a picture of a woman who has unwavering faith in the Lord and yet cannot always reconcile her own will with His. Through this most famous of women's example, we are shown that the true test isn't to accept without hesitation the blessings God bestows, but to hold onto His promises without fear when they seem to be taken away.

This is the final book a series of novellas looking at the women mentioned in Jesus' genealogy. This book tells the story of Mary, Jesus' mother.

Mary is a just engaged woman of fifteen when the angel appears and tells her she will bare the Messiah. Her life is immediately turned upside down as Joseph, her husband to be, almost refuses to marry her. A trip to Bethlehem follows their marriage, then a flight to Egypt to escape the murderous wrath of King Herod. Eventually, they return to Nazareth, but the warm welcome Mary expects doesn't come. Too many people still believe the whispers surrounding Jesus' birth. Surely they will believe once Jesus reveals himself as Messiah.

But as Jesus grows into a man, Mary continues to be frustrated by His inaction. Further frustrating Mary, her other children refuse to believe her stories about Jesus. Will her dreams for Jesus ever be fulfilled?

This is an interesting look at Mary. Several times, her insistence that Jesus behave the way she wanted made me uncomfortable. Joseph actually comes out much stronger in this book then Mary does as he recognizes Jesus' ultimate destiny early in the story. Still, I had never really looked at the events of the Bible from Mary's eyes before, and I found her attitudes believable. Being fiction, this is obviously one woman's perspective, but it is one that will make you stop and think about our own attitudes toward God.

The story suffers from trying to cover too much time. In 173 small pages, the author tries to tell Mary's story from birth to death. While most of the story does deal with Jesus's time on earth, some scenes that show potential are rushed, making the first half hard to get into. Part of this is the writing style, which seems a little distant from the action. The climax, however, is powerful, and I was crying so hard it was almost impossible to read. Most interesting is the last chapter, where the author issues a very harsh rebuke to those who worship Mary.

The book needed a better focus to best explore the character of Mary. Even with the flaws, this book is worth reading and will make the reader look at the Biblical figure in a fresh new light.

I thought that the other books (especially UNSPOKEN) were better than this book. I can't really explain it, other than to say that Mary wasn't necessarily likeable, and the other kids were brats.

I think that Ms. Rivers took chances in narrating Jesus' life during the "missing years" that aren't explained in the Bible. The healing of Anne, and the relationship with Joseph, and his brothers. I almost felt sorry for the family after Jesus became "KNOWN" because he left them and didn't necessarily acknowledge them.

I didn't particularly like the way the book ended--but maybe that's the Catholic in me :-) But it was a good way to finish the series, since the other 4 books were leading up into it.

I would highly recommend this series.