Complementary and Alternative Medicine

None of the other disciples better captured our genesis in God, beyond our natural conception! This is not about our blood lineage or whether we were a wanted- or unwanted-child; this is about our God-begotteness. John 1:13. We are his dream come true and not the invention of our parents. You are indeed the greatest idea that God has ever had! John has no desire to outwit the others in giving an even more accurate historic account of Christ! The life that was manifest within his sacred gaze and now tangible embrace is a fellowship of the highest order! He must write; he must extend this reality to his immediate audience as well as the next generations! "I am writing this to complete your joy!" 1 John 1:4 Unlike Matthew and Luke who wrote 30 years prior to him, John did not bother to locate Jesus in the setting of his natural lineage. Instead he declares, "In the beginning was the Word!" Before history was ever recorded the Word was! Mankind pre-existed in the Logic of God! He understands that the Word was both the eternal source and destiny of all things and that nothing could ever reduce or confine the Word to an isolated island experience, neither could the Word be trapped in human doctrine or tradition. No inferior translation or interpretation could compromise God's original intent. The authentic integrity of God's thought would forever be preserved and celebrated in the incarnation; human life would be the uninterrupted future of the Word. In John 14:20 Jesus declares the conclusion of his mission where in his death and resurrection every possible definition of separation will be cancelled: "In that day you will know that we are in seamless union with one another! I am in my Father, you are in me and I am in you!" (The incarnation does not divide the Trinity; the incarnation celebrates the redeemed inclusion of humanity! Picture four circles with the one fitting into the other - The outer circle is the Father, then Jesus in the Father, then us in Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us! This spells inseparable, intimate oneness! Note that it is not our knowing that positions Jesus in the Father or us in them or the Spirit of Christ in us! Our knowing simply awakens us to the reality of our redeemed oneness! Gold does not become gold when it is discovered but it certainly becomes currency!)

About the Author :
Lydia and Francois met on the 25th of August 1974, while he was working with Youth For Christ. She was sixteen and he nineteen! The following year he studied Greek and Hebrew at the University of Pretoria for three years while Lydia completed her nursing training. In 1978 Francois also spent a year with Youth with a Mission. They married in January 1979 and are blessed with four amazing children, Renaldo, Tehilla, Christo and Stefan; also, two darling grandchildren Nicola and Christiaan. They worked in a full-time mission for fourteen years, during which time they also pastored a church and led a training facility for more than 700 students over a five-year period. They then left the ministry and for ten years did business mainly in the tourism industry. They built and managed a Safari Lodge in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve and eventually relocated to Hermanus where they started Southern Right Charters boat-based whale watching. In December 2000 Francois began to write the book, "God believes in You" which led to him being invited to speak at various Christian camps and churches. Since February 2004, they travelled regularly abroad and into Africa as well as South Africa. In order to focus their time on writing and translation, they relocated from Hermanus in 2015 to a remote farm in the Swartberg Mountains. They have also stopped most of their traveling.

Review :
In a world where Bible translations and paraphrases are ubiquitous, The Mirror Study Bible is uniquely beautiful and helpful! Submitted to the original texts and the abiding guidance of the Holy Spirit, Francois du Toit carefully and meticulously opens and explores the treasures of Scripture. Not only does it satisfy the demands of the intellect, but it overwhelms the heart. WM PAUL YOUNG - Author of The Shack Francois' love for the text, his sheer exegetical courage and his astonishing ability to express essential biblical pre-suppositions in the intimate Love language of God, has opened for Judith and me a renewed and transformative biblical understanding. BOB and JUDITH MUMFORD - www.lifechangers.org My imagination ignites reading the Mirror Bible. What a beautiful, breathtaking translation. This is brilliant, and destined to relieve and liberate many. You sing the Father's heart, my brother. May the Holy Spirit continue to use the Mirror to reveal Jesus and his Father and us all around this world! I love it. DR. C. BAXTER KRUGER Author of "The Great Dance" and "The Shack Revisited" Reflecting on any translation of Scripture gives one the opportunity to hear our Maker's voice and thoughts, filtered through the interpretation and language of the translator(s). In this fresh Paraphrase, Francois du Toit has opened the curtain for readers of any age, culture or language to enjoy amazing insights into the heartbeat of Agape - where everyone feels equally loved, included and valued in the eyes of the Father - and fully redeemed in the union we come from! The Mirror underlines the fact that we did not merely begin in our mother's womb; we are the invention and idea of God! To have this work now also available in Xhosa will mark a new era for young and old to rediscover the Bible afresh. Archbishop DESMOND TUTU - Legacy Foundation