Primal Review

I had the opportunity to read Primal as part of Mark Batterson’s blog tour.  I became acquainted with his writing when I read In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.  It was a good read on a pretty obscure passage of scripture.  When I heard about his new book, I wanted to check it out and the blog tour was an added bonus.

In his new offering Batterson explores the Great Commandment (to love God with all your Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength).  He says as Christ followers we are not great at the Great Commandment; in fact, most days we are not very good at it.  He asserts that we need to get back to the basics of Christianity, to rediscover what is primal.  His book does an excellent job of doing just that.

What I found engaging about the book was his mix of personal discoveries, practical suggestions and great illustrations, especially from the realm of science.  Sprinkled throughout his writing are various facts and insights from the world of science that reminded me why I didn’t pursue that as a profession.  Facts about how the human body works, about sound waves and other aspects of our universe  are used to point us back to God as Creator and to marvel again at what God has done.  As we know more and more about God, revealed through His word and His creation, we love Him more, which is the heartbeat of Primal.

Batterson develops his premise that what we need to rediscover what it means to love God with a heart of compassion, a soul of wonder, a mind of curiosity and with strength of energy.  He develops each one of these aspects well in the chapters throughout the book and challenges the reader to seek to do each one of those things.  I not only enjoyed the book, but drew some specific things I need to implement in my own walk with God.

Primal definitely gets my recommendation to be on your reading list in 2010.  It would not only be helpful to an individual; it would provide great discussions in a small group format.

Waterbook Multnomah  http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781601421319

You can also get information about this book and Mark Batterson’s other writings at his blog:  www.evotional.com