Beyond the Big C

Suffering and pain are a part of life, aren’t they? Maybe it’s your suffering or that of a loved one but we all, to one degree or another, suffer in this life. As a pastor I often sit with people who are hurting, some from physical suffering, others with mental and spiritual suffering. People ask the questions; why? why me? why now? why this? Here’s a very short book, that I hope will have a huge impact in your life. Here’s what Jeremy Marshall says in response to the question ‘how does God allow suffering?’ in Beyond the Big C…

“I don’t know the answer…But this I do know: that God doesn’t leave us in the total mess we are in but cares enough about our suffering and brokenness to become human. More than that, he cares enough to experience real, physical death and go through suffering far worse than anything anyone of us will ever know. God’s answer to suffering and pain is not theological truths, useful though they can be, but the humanity, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

This book is Jeremy’s story of how in 2013 he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and since has another diagnosis of incurable cancer, yet how he still stands firm in the gospel. This book is the story of a man who knows suffering, who knows that his days are number but his passion for his saviour has not dwindled! In these pages you’ll hear the testimony of a man who uses his own story to point people Jesus and to see that, even in the face of death, there is hope in Christ. Here’s what Jeremy says about his own suffering…

“In the depths of despair with cancer, when I cried to God to help, I found that he answered me. Not to sure me – although he could do that if he wants – but to reassure me that he is there, that he is in control and that he is working his purposes out.”

Jeremy is honest, he tells you about his doubts, his worries and his fears. But interwoven in his story is a wonderful apologetic about the hope of the gospel, the reality of suffering and the hope in face of death because of Jesus.

This is a very short book and it’s written in such a way that you feel like you’re just sitting having a coffee with Jeremy. Beyond the Big C would be a great gift to give to a friend, Christian or not, if they’re considering the topic of suffering and faith. It would be a great book for your church to buy multiple copies of and to giveaway to members; to equip them and give them confidence in the gospel. Here’s what Jeremy says about the gospel…

“If what I am saying is true, these short pages contain the answer to cancer, death and everything. If what I say is not true, you might have wasted 30 more minutes reading on from now. What do you have to lose? I am a Christian not because it’s helpful (although it is) – but because it is true.”

Please buy this book, you will not be sorry. Buy it here from 10ofThose. Pray for Jeremy, and that this little book would be used by God to touch lives of those who are suffering and hurting and point them to the wonderfully Good News of Jesus Christ.

Rating 5/5

Jeremy Marshall is the former CEO of the UK’s oldest private bank, C. Hoare & Co.