The second installment in Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series did not disappoint! Strong, conflicted characters, and a gripping plot make for another powerful read! Although these books are set in first millenium Roman culture, so much of the drama could easily have been played out today. As usual, Rivers does a phenomenal job of weaving timeless truth into a compelling narrative.
Here are a few of my favorite lines:
". . . And so Marcus did as he was asked. He gave in to his dep need to speak of Hadassah. And all the while he talked of her, he failed to see the irony in what he was doing. For as he told the story of a simple Judean slave girl, Marcus Lucianus Valerian, a Roman who didn't believe in anything, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ . . ."
". . . He felt her withdrawal. 'I'm sorry,' he said, shutting his eyes. 'It's nt you I'm angry with. God asks too much.'
'Does he? Jesus forgave the men who drove the nails into his hands and feet. He forgave the people who mocked him as he hung on the cross. He even forgave the disciples for deserting him. Aren't we all like that, Marcus? Fallible. Afraid. Weak in our faith. And still Jesus loves us and points the way to real freedom and what it means' . . ."
SPOILER ALERT! THE FOLLOWING QUOTE MAY GIVE AWAY CRUCIAL PLOT POINTS, BUT IT WAS JUST TOO GOOD TO NOT ADD HERE!
". . . 'Do you remember when Hadassah first came to us? She was a pathetic, skinny little thing with eyes too big for her face and her hair growing back in tatters. Yous aid she was ugly, and your father and Julia shared the same opinion. I didn't know what it was about her then that made me so sure she was right for Julia. I just knew. Now I know God works in our lives even before we believe. He sets his plan in motion and fulfills it in his time."
She approached her son and put a comforting h and on his arm. "I believed her about Jesus, Marcus. Your father believed at the end. You went to curse God for taking her life and returned praising him. And Julia, our rebellious, beloved Julia, stubborn to the last moment, is now with the Lord. Each one of us as come to know Christ because we saw him at work in Hadassah's life. She was God's gift to us' . . . "
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