Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Our union with Christ stands at the heart of the gospel. This devotional book reflects on the Incarnation as well as the Christian's position in Christ—two doctrines that are foundational for truly understanding and rejoicing in salvation.

The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ

Found in Him

Stephanie Ridiculous

Before reading this book you need to understand that at large, it's an opinion piece. Fitzpatrick explores the aspects of the life of Christ that we just don't have reliable information on. She does not make a clear distinction that much of this book is her own opinion, musing, and creative license. This is very important for you to understand - she asserts her musings on what Christ was like right along side scripture, and it's dangerous if you don't understand that's what she's doing.

That being said, I think the vast majority of her musings are reasonable. She doesn't draw wild conclusions by any means. It was very helpful for me to think about Christ in the full context of his humanity. His body functioned just like mine! She also talks about how he lived an obedient life to fulfill the law - I have never heard or read anything that really talks about the first 30 years of his life being specifically significant. There are a lot of great truths to chew on in this book. essentially, she is stating the gospel over and over again in different ways, making this a great book for a new believer (if read in a discipleship setting) or for someone who has believed for a while, who may have lost sight of the awe of the gospel.

I did have one major disagreement - she states that when seeing the transfiguration Peter tries to start his own, new religion. I'm not really sure where she gets this notion - certainly Peter wanted to worship Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But I think she takes her explanation of the event one step too far.

Additionally, she spends a lot of time talking about us as the bride of Christ. I think it got excessive. She also kind of supports classic stereotypical gender descriptions. While I fully believe in the specific gender roles stated in the bible, I do not believe the bible supports that women have to be stereotypically feminine and men stereotypically masculine. Meaning, I don't have to love pink, dresses, and having ribbons in my hair. And my husband doesn't have to smoke cigars, have big muscles, and be loud and assertive. That's not biblical, it's cultural. In the context of the book, she spends a lot of time framing all believers as the feminine bride of Christ. And for me it just got weird.

In general, though, this book has a lot of great truth to offer. Just be discerning while reading it.

Found in Him The Joy of the Incarnation and Our Union with Christ

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