by R. William Bennett
Simon, Jewish but not devout, is in Bethlehem when Christ is born--the last man to find room at the inn before Joseph and Mary are turned away. While he sees Jesus and hears rumors about Him, he simply continues his life as a merchant. As the years pass, though, more rumors abound, and when Christ begins His ministry and His teachings spread through the land, Simon can no longer ignore the rumors but must decide for himself who Jesus is and what the answer will mean for him and his family.
I was expecting this to be more of a Christmas story, but while Simon does see Jesus shortly after His birth, most of the story takes place in later years of Christ's life and it's much more a story about coming to know and follow Christ, to decide whether or not to seek Him and believe or not. I really enjoyed that journey and there were parts of Simon's experience that I could relate to really well on my own journey to know and follow Christ. So it wasn't the Christmas story I was expecting, but it was definitely worth reading.
4 stars.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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