‘How differently would we live if we believed that every dimension of our lives---from the happy to the tragic to the mundane---were part of a beautiful and purposeful design in which no thread were wrongly woven?’ –Dr. Ravi Zacharias How different would our lives would be knowing this truth. That's what best-selling author and internationally-known apologist, Ravi Zacharias, explores in his book The Grand Weaver.

1. 2012
Samuel Pongen
1211643
2 BBA-B
Book Review-The Grand Weaver

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Details of the Book
Title of the Book The Great Weaver: How God shapes us
through the events of our lives
Author of the Book Ravi Zacharias
Edition Language English
Original Title The Grand Weaver
Publisher Zondervan, July 6 2010
Price of the book $10.19
No of Pages 200
ISBN No. 0310269520 (ISBN13: 9780310269526)
Name of the Reviewer Samuel Pongen
Length 10 pages, 2077 words

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About the author
Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias was born in Madras,
India in 1946. He is an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical
Christian apologist. Zacharias was raised in a nominal Anglican
household, in his youth he considered himself to be an atheist, until
one life changing incident when he unsuccessfully tried to commit
suicide. While in the hospital, a local Christian worker brought him
a Bible and told his mother to read to him out of John 14. Zacharias
says that it was John 14:19 that touched him and caused him to
commit his life to Christ.
He has an undergraduate degree from Ontario Bible College and acquired
his M.Div. from Trinity International University. He began an itinerant ministry with
the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada. After graduating from Trinity International
University he was commissioned to preach worldwide. In August 1984 Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries was founded in Toronto, Canada. Today its headquarters is located
in Atlanta, Georgia, and has offices in Canada, England, India, Singapore and the United
Arab Emirates.
Zacharias is the author of numerous Christian books, including the Gold Medallion Book
Award winner Can Man Live Without God? And bestsellers Light in the Shadow of
Jihad and The Grand Weaver. He is the founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries, host of the radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking,
and visiting professor at Wycliffe Hall of Oxford, where he teaches apologetics and
evangelism. Zacharias studied as a visiting scholar at Cambridge University and held the
chair in Evangelism and Contemporary Thought at Seminary from 1981 to 1984.
Commentator Chuck Colson referred to Zacharias as "the great apologist of our time”.

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Introduction
Book - The Grand Weaver
Author - Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias
‘How differently would we live if we believed that every dimension of our lives---from the
happy to the tragic to the mundane---were part of a beautiful and purposeful design in which
no thread were wrongly woven?’ –Dr. Ravi Zacharias
How different would our lives would be knowing this truth. That's what best-selling author
and internationally-known apologist, Ravi Zacharias, explores in his book The Grand
Weaver.
Ravi Zacharias introduces The Grand Weaver by preparing an analogy. He takes the reader
on a descriptive journey to a place in India where saris are made. These large masterpieces
are woven thread-by-thread, line-by-line in a pain-staking process. These can take weeks and
even months to complete. The entire time, the weaver has a single design in his mind that he
wishes to create. Every weave that he does, though individually they may seem insignificant,
contribute to the whole. Over time, the design takes shape and becomes more evident.
As the title of the book indicates, Zacharias wishes to use the weaving of a magnificent sari to
illustrate God's design and purposes for what God has chosen to and allows to take place in
our lives. The book is written in a way that it brings comfort to the reader. The book flows
very smoothly and is easy to read, yet difficult to put down. The book provides good personal
stories, as well as a secure grounding in scripture to illustrate his main point that God works
all circumstances - our strengths, our shortcomings, our circumstances, to achieve his
ultimate purpose for our lives. Seemingly disconnected events, tragic circumstances,
supposed "coincidences", are all seen through he lens of God's ultimate purpose for our
lives. Therefore it’s enlightening pages and ability to carry the reader makes this book stand
out from the rest.

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Summary
In the beginning of the book Ravi Zacharias builds an imagery of a place in India where saris
are made. He brings to light the process of its creation every thread gently woven with a
single design in mind, till a masterpiece of beauty is formed. Ravi Zacharias divides his book
into eight chapters:
 Your DNA matters
 Your Disappointments Matter
 Your Calling Matters
 Your Morality Matters
 Your Spirituality Matters
 Your Will Matters
 Your Worship Matters
 Your Destiny Matters
The book explains how we were made and our grand design, it speaks that even our smallest
physical flaws to all difficulties we will face in life are all part of our design and that it was
placed upon us for a special reason, the book recounts the story of a young man who is a
weaver yet seems to have mental challenges. Not everyone's purpose is the same, so God is
not going to give every person the same tools. We shouldn't complain about what God has
given us, but use what He has given us. We must also recognize that there are many members
of the Body of Christ- each with their own unique calling. We must work humbly together as
the Body to accomplish God's purpose for every member of the Body. If we want to
experience true joy in our lives, we must surrender to God's way and design, not our own. He
tells the reader that though some events may not seem to make sense in the immediate, we
can find their purpose by examining who God has made us, who God has made those effected
by us, and ultimately who we will become as He calls us home.

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Philosophical Context
The book takes the reader through eight chapters each chapter is compared to a strand and
each strand has been carefully placed to get a beautiful result. In the first chapter ‘Your DNA
Matters’ Ravi Zacharias focuses on physical attributes that god has chosen for ach person. He
explains that each person is unique and being disabled is not a flaw it is all part of Gods
design,
The second chapter ‘Your Disappointment matters’ focuses on the events in our lives that are
less than ideal and even devastating. Zacharias recognizes that in times of rouble god seems
unheeding to our cries. He explains that this real experience has a purpose: to build trust
(faith), to strengthen the mind, and guide us to see all of life through the lens of the cross of
Jesus Christ. It helps to put our suffering into perspective and to understand our lives are his
to weave a beautiful pattern which will become evident as our minds are renewed and faith is
built.
In the third chapter ‘Your Calling Matters’. It talks of the struggles help us identify our
calling. He explains three imperatives regarding our calling. The first is that we must always
be in prayer. The second is that we must approach our call with humility. Third must
surround ourselves with Godly people.
In the fourth ‘Your Morality Matters’ Zacharias points out that Christianity stands alone as
the worldview in which morality is not a means of attaining something. He explains the
importance of boundaries and the purpose of the moral rules given in the Law was not to
make it possible for man to be saved, but to demonstrate to him that without God's help, it is
impossible to be saved.
The fifth chapter ‘Your Spirituality Matters’ explains how rationalism, empiricism,
existentialism, and postmodernism have all used their views of how we can know about
reality. He explains that in Christianity truth is what matters and Christianity offers the
ultimate spirituality- one that takes into account all the valid sources of knowledge about
reality.
In the sixth chapter ‘Your Will Matters’ Zacharias looks at the will of man in his life. He
makes it clear that his intention is not to speak about man's will in salvation, but in his life's

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submission to God's will. We must submit our will to God's, he changes our desires to match His.
We must constantly exercise our own will to follow God's because we can still falter. He
finishes the chapter by quoting G.K. Chesterton, comparing the many ways we can fail to the
single way to succeed.
The seventh chapter covers what Zacharias describes as the most vital of the threads of one's
life: worship. It is a sense that something is real but not necessarily fully understood by us.
Zacharias shows how worship is tied to every aspect of our lives, and if it is misplaced, our
lives lose their proper focus. He concludes the chapter by pointing out proper worship is what
gives even our questions and concerns about life validity- without proper worship; our
questions and concerns are meaningless.
In the final chapter Zacharias discusses the culmination of all the events in our lives. He
brings all the threads in the other chapters together to show that through all the pain,
suffering, joy, and excitement God is preparing those who choose to follow Him for eternal
fellowship with Him.

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Writing Style
Ravi Zacharias has a different writing style from other authors. He often wanders from his
topic and then later returns. Subtle at the beginning and quick to gain a reader’s interest as it
goes along.
The book has a very personal the book challenges the emotional problem of evil head-on.
Zacharias brings the reader into his own life and demonstrates his points from his own
experiences. The book is not written at an academic level that is beyond what the lay person
can understand, but it does challenge them as it brings them comfort. The book flows very
smoothly and is easy to read, yet difficult to put down.

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Analysis of the Book
Strengths - This book helps to understand why events caused by or allowed by God shape an
individual. It discusses issues like the Will, our Destiny, our Worship, our Calling, our
Spirituality, our DNA, and our Disappointments in such a way that with some time to think,
we can begin to see how all the twists and turns of our life come together in such a way to
demonstrate God’s glory to all we encounter.
The book can help one to realise that no person is a forgotten creature with a random destiny,
our specific genetic built-up, our way of living, our abilities, our will, even our
disappointments are all part of a design.
Weakness - The irony here is that, while the book is called The Grand Weaver and the author
uses threads, weaving, and tapestry as his main metaphors.
 Reviews from web sites such as books.google.com mention the book uses a fair
amount of anecdotes and suppositions but it failed to come together into a cohesive
narrative, let alone a persuasive argument.
 Another Reviewer mention the simplicity of the book, reading too much brings sense of
boredomof language and way of reasoning.
This book is full of wisdom and insights gained from the author’s years of experiences. Some
parts are challenging and make us think about the events which have taken place in our own
lives and have been knitted together to mold us into whom we have become. The author helps
us look beyond human reasoning and focus on Christ.

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10
Reviewer’s Opinion
Every Library should have several copies of this book for their own consumption, and it
should be handed to those who are struggling with painful events in life- whether
believer or not. For the believer, Zacharias provides a biblical perspective that may not
be immediately clear to those experiencing pain. For the skeptic, Zacharias explains how
Christianity brings meaning and life to their pain and suffering.
As mentioned by theological reviewers as well this book would be highly recommended
for Pastors. Pastors, in their roles as teachers and counsellors, are depended upon to
help people struggle through and overcome difficulties in their lives people are not just
searching for solutions to the painful events but purpose for those painful events. In The
Grand Weaver, Zacharias brings to light much that scripture has to say about God's
sovereignty and purpose for what happens in our lives both good and bad. Not only can
this help a person triumph through the crisis, but also stand against doubts about the
goodness or existence of God from personal life experiences.