Bound Together: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices By Chris Brauns Book Review

 

In Bound Together, Chris Brauns explored the concept of how everyone is connected together and we’re bound together. What one of us does, affects everyone else. We’re not lone rangers and we’re created for community. Adam was commanded by God to be fruitful and multiply and to have dominion over all creatures. They could have any fruit they wanted expect from one tree. Satan tempted Eve into eating from the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil and she talked Adam into it. Everything changed! Chris Brauns used the principle of the rope to elucidate that Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden has profoundly impacted all generations. Since then, sin has consumed every generation and we’re all guilty of sinning. Because we’re all a part of Adam’s descendants. He used the term “solidary” to describe the principle of the rope. Solidary, denotes “a union of interests, purposes, or sympathies among members of a group. It speaks to the ties that bind a group together” Page 26). The book also goes on to say that Christ has died for our sins and when we received salvation we become a portion of His body. Christ is the ultimate head of the Church and the body. His death allows us a chance at repentance and forgiveness from our numerous sins. 

 

Chris Brauns shared the example that if he leaves his wife and children it will negatively hurt everyone not just himself. We can’t assume that our choices that we make only effect ourselves. Chris Brauns also stated that divorce is like an amputation and it should only be done when it’s the last choice. Divorce brings deep emotional pain to everyone involved. He also discussed the significance of marriage and how God compared marriage to our union with Christ. Marriage bonds and ties us emotional, physically, and spiritually to another forever. Scriptures remind us that wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. And the man is the head of the wife like Christ is the head of the church. This doesn’t mean that if the husband is abusing the wife then you should submit. The scriptures also tell husbands to love their wife like Christ loves us. Basically this means we’re both called to love each other when we made the vow before the Lord to care for another person until the everlasting.

 

I would recommend this splendid book to anyone who has ever wondered why we have to pay for Adam’s and Eve’s sin and to people who feel believe their choices doesn’t harm anyone but themselves. This book goes into vast detail on the how each person’s life affects another whether we realize it or not. I loved the story of Rehab that Chris Brauns clarified. Rehab was a prostitute in Jericho and she hide the spies of Israel in her home. She asked the spies if God could spare her and her family from the destruction of Jericho. God answered her and they were the only family freed from the annihilation of Jericho. The grace of God forgave her for her sinful past and she became a huge follower of Jesus Christ. I cherished how Chris Brauns used this point to remind readers that the grace of God can cover them and He can forgive you for your sins. Even if your family has a history of generational sins, it can be broken completely with Christ’s assistance. I immeasurably loved the chapter devoted entirely to marriage and it helped me to see the importance of marriage in God’s eyes. Even though I haven’t met my wife yet, it gave me a much needed reminder on what my roles of a husband are intended to be. The book was an enormous reminder that our actions and behaviors doesn’t just impact us, they influence the next generations for good or for bad! It’s up to us to make a wise decision on which one we will ultimately choose. If you’re looking for a book that you reveal to the truth about why people suffer and how our choices affects others, then this book is for you!

 

 

 “I received this book for free from Cross Focused Reviews / Zondervan for this review”.

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy of Bound Together, then check it out on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, or Christian Book.com:

 

 http://www.amazon.com/Bound-Together-Tied-Others-Choices/dp/0310495113

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bound-together-chris-brauns/1111872467?ean=9780310495116  

 

http://www.christianbook.com/bound-together-tied-others-good-choices/chris-brauns/9780310495116/pd/495111?item_code=WW&netp_id=1022212&event=ESRCG&view=details