3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The Unannounced Christmas Visitor is a novel from the Christian genre by Patrick Higgins. It is about a Christian family, who are unhappy and on the brink of change. John Jensen is going through a crisis. His lack of love and interest is hurting his family. His wife, Lydia has been praying to God and asking for his help and intervention. One Sunday, close to Christmas, a stranger enters their church and the Jensen's lives. His disreputable appearance offends the members of the congregation. All of them snub him, except for Lydia. After his second visit to the church, Lydia seeks him out and introduces herself. His name is Enoch, and he has no home. He is an elderly man living in the park, and his physical needs touch her soul deeply. She is so affected by his joy despite his deprivation, she takes him a lunch. Then she begins ministering to the other needy people that are living in the park with him. Lydia's two children willingly begin helping her. They cheerfully help make and serve sandwiches to the hungry and homeless. John, whose unpleasant attitude has diminished his job performance, has received a major pay cut. He is in jeopardy of losing his job completely. With his source of income compromised, he isn't too pleased with his wife's use of the little money they have. Nor does he feel that it is safe for his children to spend time with homeless people. However, after he meets Enoch and spends time with him, he begins to look at his life in a different light.
I loved the unconditional love that Lydia and her children showed to those who were more unfortunate than they were. They were selfless with their hearts as well as their belongings. They held nothing back, not even the things that they held dearest. The church hadn't tainted them, their hearts were pure and full of love. The light came from within them.
The fact that the rest of the members of the church were only concerned with the outward appearance was overwhelmingly realistic. The wealthy members ran the church and made the decisions. The congregation held them in high esteem, and because of their affluence followed their leadership, like sheep. On the other hand, I found it very unrealistic that the homeless people accepted help, without any kind of negative attitude. People living in those circumstances are in self-preservation mode. They do not trust anybody and would regard an abundance of kindness and gifts with suspicion. It possibly could happen if there were an angel in their midst, but otherwise, it doesn't seem likely. Realistically, in the future, I don't see the family receiving the same acceptance and results from neither the congregation nor the homeless.
Patrick Higgins has written several fiction and nonfiction books because of his concern for the lost. He writes his books in the hopes of helping others. He feels that they need to understand their mortality and be saved from an eternity in hell. His desire is that everyone should hear his personal message that a single decision will keep their immortal souls from peril.
This is a book entirely based on scriptures from the Bible. It is mostly made up of a group of mini-sermons written into story form. It seems its purpose is geared toward helping and scaring the characters and readers into changing their lives and serve Yahweh. This book is suitable for those who are Christians and enjoy a clean, fiction Bible-based story and are looking for an inspirational read. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
******
The Unannounced Christmas Visitor
View: on Bookshelves
Like Silvermoon's review? Post a comment saying so!
