Jake Smith (1)

Wish is a beautiful story. It is not overtly Christian but the reader understands that this is a believing family. I was ready to give this book a 5 star rating until I got to the section where Aaron asks his father what heaven would be like. This is what James said:

“Well, I take that to mean that the place prepared for each of us is full of the things we loved when we were here. It’s not something untouchable or something we can’t understand.” James held out his hand for the show more baseball, and Aaron gently placed it in his open palm. “God’s there, of course. Which, I suppose, is really what makes it heaven. But also the things we love to do, the people we love I think our individual mansions in heaven are filled with those. Grandparents, friends, family, pets ”

"God's there of course"??? WHAT! This is disturbing. The view given above is a completely self-focused view made to provide comfort not truth. We were not created for self edification.

Why were we created? We were created for God's pleasure! Catch that...God's pleasure not ours.

Revelation 4:11 says "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

"All things were created by him and for him." Colossians 1:16

Are you looking at your salvation as a "get out of hell free pass"? That would greatly cheapen Christ's sacrifice for his children on the cross! Do you desire a heaven filled with the glory of God? A heaven in which we worship him day and night. That is the heaven that we were created for. To honor the creator and not the created.

In Revelation 4 and 5 Paul gives us the vision the Lord gave him. A glimpse into the worship of heaven.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!"

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the seam and all this is in then, saying.

"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lab
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"

And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Revelation 5:11-14 ESV

So many twists of the word of God. Jake Smith may be well intentioned but his "good" intentions paint a very inaccurate view of the Holy God of Scripture. God will not be mocked. Always remember that God demands that "you shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you." Deuteronomy 4:2 ESV show less

I almost gave up on reading the book about 1/3 of the way through because I was getting bogged down by the baseball terms. But I stuck with it -- and I was not disappointed! James' son is battling leukemia -- again. 9 year old Aaron's greatest wish was to make his father's dream come true. Make sure you have Kleenex handy as you read this book.

One drawback for me(other than my lack of baseball knowledge) was that sometimes the descriptions of the scenery (baseball stadium, gardens) seemed show more too long. show less

Grab your tissues, you are going to need them. Wish is a heart warming story that takes you on one family's journey into the fight against childhood cancer and one young man's extraordinary wish. You will laugh, cry, and get angry (sometimes at the same time), but you will not want to put this one down until the very last word.

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Wish by Jake Smith
Wanted to read this book because it's about baseball and I miss the journey and dreams.
This one is about a boy, Aaron who's no longer in remission. His dad, James has grown up playing baseball and is now a coach. Young daughter Lizzie and wife Emily are all surrounding Aaron at the hospital where they are able to live while he goes through his tests, chemo and hopefully more bone marrow transplants.
Aaron immerses himself in baseball, stats-I love stats! To me it's his way show more of not forgetting his ordeal but coping with it that takes him away from the limelight to lose himself in. He gets a visit from a pro ball player and they get in-depth about the game and stats.
Follows everyday life things that occur, praying to God and how each of them copes with their new routines.
Love gift Aaron is able to give to his dad with the help of the ball player...makes you sad he had to give up his dream long ago..What a treat for me as never having gone to a ballpark. all behind the scenes are now open.
After I learned what the wish really was i had to close the book, put it down and stop crying, so happy for them all...things like this just don't happen to regular people...
X read! Love it when everybody comes together for a good cause.
I received this book from Book Club Network (bookfun.org) in exchange for my honest review. show less