In Larry Shoop’s book, Does
God Smile? he goes on to answer the subtitle’s question of How Do I Really Know That God Cares Anything
About Me? By doing such, Larry Shoop
has an instructive speech with a moral, a sermon if you will. For each of the chapter topics, Shoop
expresses God’s behavior through incidences within his own life; most
descriptively views on history primarily gained from the scriptures.
Larry Shoop is a very articulate writer, telling Biblical
stories with subtle inferences. For
example, in the onset of this book he writes about a smile, and defines the
generally accepted definition about how a smile is significant in human
behavior. He then goes on to reveal what
can best be summed up by this following excerpt:
Think about this: Jesus had time for women and children. To those of us living in western society that
might not seem to be a big deal, but in the culture in which Jesus lived, women
and children were not considered of much worth. Even today in some areas of our world women are relegated to the
position of a commodity to be used by men. Jesus had not brought into the culture; instead, He cared even about
those who were not considered important. They were important to Him, as we can infer by what is recorded about
Him.
So Children seemed to
love Him, and their mothers seemed to think He was pleasant company for their
children. That is one indication that He
smiled.
No doubt Jesus smiled. The points Larry Shoop make throughout his book are ones to encourage
self esteem, honesty, praise (versus criticism), obedience and most importantly
love. He begins each chapter candidly;
often talking about a personal incident being the father of his two daughters. At times he begins by discussing some challenging
situations, for example having an unfavorable boss or colleague. Then he carries fourth a moral message and
fits it into the situation. Finally, and
most enjoyably, he brings his storytelling skills into the Biblical events and
historical characters like a History
Channel episode, and explains the Christian root of the principles, and how
his faith in God has been defined by his reason.
Reading Does God
Smile? is like a “Month of Sundays,” as Larry Shoop has his sermons
sequentially lined up for easy Christian reading with entertaining and
enlightening stories. This book is ideal
for Christian bookstores, church gift shops, and for those wishing to pass a
few hours in thought about being a better person and going in peace through
life. Altogether, Larry Shoop has
provided a great service in compiling these many words of wisdom, challenges and
devotion into a useful resource for believers of all Christian faiths who want
to have a stronger relationship with God.
Buy this book at Amazon.com
