A Stable Beginning: If He Had Not Come ~ a TOS review

Thursday, November 6, 2014

If He Had Not Come ~ a TOS review

There are just 48 days until my favorite holiday, Christmas! I love Christmas and everything that it symbolizes. We also have a family tradition of purchasing a new book every year to add to our Christmas book collection. This year, I am so excited to be able to review and share with you a fantastic book called If He Had Not Come from David Nicholson.

If He Had Not Come was originally published in 1938 in an anthology by Nan F. Weeks but Mr. Nicholson has brought the story back to life so that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy it. David Nicholson is a retired schoolteacher who heard this story for the first time 30+ years ago while in his adult Sunday School class and knew that he wanted to start a tradition of sharing it with his family at Christmas time.

This book is a hardcover book with beautiful illustrations by Charles Jaskiewicz that captivates even the youngest of listeners. The book is recommended for ages 6 and up, but I think the story is great even for the younger crowd. It retails for just $18.95 for a printed hardcover copy or $3.99 for eBook edition.

If He Had Not Come tells the story of a little boy named Bobby who gets the words “If I had not come” from John 15:22 stuck in his head while reading the Bible with his dad on Christmas Eve. As he drifts off to sleep that night, he whispers those five words over and over in his head.

When he awakes the next day {or so he thinks}, it is Christmas day but everything is different. There are no lights, or trees, or anyone celebrating Christmas. Instead he finds the local factory still open for business, and no hospital, homeless shelter, or orphanage where he remembers them being. Even his own church does not exist in this new world he is in. Everywhere he looks throughout his journey to find his parents on this strange day he see the words “If I had not come”. Soon after he hears the church bells and wakes up and realizes that he had been dreaming the whole time! Bobby is very grateful that Christ did come and he vows to please Him everyday.

At the end of the book, Mr. Nicholson provides six interactive comprehension questions for use within your Sunday School or family devotion time. These questions are only listed as suggestions and the true aim for them is to have an open-ended discussion and encourage interaction.

There is also a section called Going Deeper by Josh Mulvihill in the back of the book. This section gives thoughtful questions for you to discuss and also provides scripture references pointing out the many reasons why God sent Jesus to Earth. Also included is a page presenting the Gospel message and how receiving God’s gift of salvation is as easy as A-B-C. Lastly, there is a page to correlate the symbolism of eternal life in Jesus Christ through the Christmas tree; complete with lights, a star on top, and gifts below.

My girls and I have really enjoyed this book! I love the message presented throughout the story and how it makes you realize that this would be a dreary world if He had not come. Every year at the end of November we wrap up our Christmas book collection and the girls take turns picking one book each night to unwrap and read. I can not wait to add this book to our collection this year and share it again with my children. This is an excellent book and would make a great gift for anyone on your list. As a family we give this book 2 thumbs up! Be sure to check out what my fellow Crewmates thought of this book by clicking the banner below!