Sydney J. Hielema

Deepening the Colors: Life Inside the Story of God Sydney J. Hielema

While this book is aimed at Christian high school seniors and first-year college students, it is a very helpful book for anyone interested in who we are called to be in Jesus Christ. Hielema begins appropriately with the Kingdom of God. In the first chapter, he explains that the main purpose of the Bile is to reveal the Lord God rather than solving our problems. He says "that the Bible is like a six-chapter storybook that could be subtitled 'the story of God deepening the colors' as we move from the colors of the Garden of Eden to the jewels of the new Jerusalem. God promises to deepen our colors as we grow from seeing who we are called to be in Jesus Christ and finding our calling from him. Our identity is always within His calling. As we follow God's call, our colors as precious jewels in His kingdom continue to deepen. We follow "truth-walking habits" as we seek to follow Him. As he calls us to prophetic living, he says "Biblical prophecy is not focused on foretelling the future; it declares the trust in the name of the Lord." He is very sensitive to the challenges God's children face: sometimes we see a playground, at other times a workshop, even a battle ground, and in the worst of times, an intensive care unit. The book moves through the challenges of being a follower of Jesus to finally considering, after we know who we are called to be in God's kingdom, what are students now supposed to do. This concern with our work comes, as it should, at the end of the book. Until we know who we are in Jesus, we cannot know what He calls us to do. Anyone wanting to see the outlines of a Reformational Christian view of life with God should read this engaging book. The author's deep sensitivity to his readers shows as he gently leads them through the challenges of life.