A review by reneesmith
Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson

5.0

A memorable story of friendship, love, loss, faith & duty. Both thrilling & heartbreaking.

Once I started this book, I could not stop reading! So glad I opened these pages.

Though not Christian fiction (the soldiers speak like “real life” soldiers, etc.), this story has a strong faith element that, for me, added depth to the choices & sacrifices.

My favorite quotes:

“Maybe hope is the only lasting change one human can give to another. And for the first time in my life, I have hope. You gave that to me.”

“Faith isn’t really faith until it’s beat up and put through a fire. When you’re crushed, you feel like you’re dying. But you’re actually coming to life. When you’re broken, that’s when the best of you comes out.”

“The point of life isn’t to quench our thirst, it’s to realize we’re thirsty for something that we can’t find here . . . Maybe this is faith . . . Maybe faith was having the humility to scream at God and the audacity to get up off the floor.”

“Maybe that’s what made a memory powerful. Not that it happened once, but that it happened over and over again on the screen of your mind.”

“Jesus was with his disciples and he got word from Mary and Martha that one of his best friends, Lazarus, was sick. And this is what blows my mind. It says, ‘Now Jesus loved Mary and Martha. So, when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days’ . . . Doesn’t that seem strange? He loved them, so he waited? When I think about love, I think of someone jumping on the first plane to come see me when I’m in trouble. But by the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has already been dead for four days. Four days! He’s already in a tomb; Jesus missed the funeral.” She paused, letting that information sink in. “And when Jesus finally arrives, Martha doesn’t say, ‘I’m so sorry you missed the funeral.’ No. She says, ‘If only you had been here, none of this would have happened.’ She’s basically saying, ‘You could have prevented this, but you didn’t.’ It’s faith mixed with total confusion. ‘I believe, but I have no idea what you’re doing’ . . . Martha’s prayer is one of the most honest, raw prayers I’ve ever read in the Bible. ‘Lord, if you had been here, none of this would have happened.’ It’s her cry from the trenches. And Jesus doesn’t get angry with her. He doesn’t walk away. He cries with her.”