Book Highlight: Love Does by Bob Goff
I’m very very behind the 8 ball on this but I finally picked up Bob Goff’s first book Love Does 6 years after it was first released. Now I’ve followed Bob in different ways ever since first reading about him via his good friend Donald Miller in one of Don’s own books several years ago and I was excited to finally get my hands on this book. If my memory serves me right, Don described Bob as the type of person too busy living life to stop and write about it…only a bit ironic right??
But really, if it totally worth picking up this wonderful, whimsical labor of love from Bob. In bite-sized chapters (which I greatly appreciate), Bob shares enthralling stories that display “simple yet profound” life lessons while also leaving the reader wanting to go cliff-diving and prisoner-freeing at the end of basically every chapter. His storytelling approach is both inspirational and challenging as he breaks down the importance and simplicity of living a life centered on Jesus - a life centered on love. A love that does.
This premiere work from Bob is a wonderful gift to the world and is a must-read for anyone (like me) who is going through a season of confusion and/or transition in their lives.
I’m definitely glad Bob slowed down enough to write this book (and gave away all the profits too)!
Here’s my quick 3-2-1 overview from Love Does:
My top 3 lessons from the book:
Jesus spent a lot of His time with people that Christians often try to avoid.
It’s okay to try and fail. It can make good stories and impactful teachers.
Perhaps Jesus is more interested in us doing stuff with Him rather than just memorizing stuff about Him (like, as Bob points out, a stalker).
My 2 favorite quotes from Bob:
“But I’ve always wondered if when we want to do something that we know is right and good, God places that desire in our hearts because He wants it for us and it honors HIm. Maybe there are times when we think a door has been closed and, instead of misinterpreting the circumstances, God wants us to kick it down. Or perhaps just sit outside of it long enough until somebody tells us we can come in.”
“Most people even vow to themselves some time in high school or college not to be typical. But still, they just kind of loop back to it somehow. Like the circular rails of a train at an amusement park, the scripts we know offer a brand of security, of predictability, of safety for us. But the problem is, they only take us where we’ve already been. They loop us back to places where everyone can easily go, not necessarily where we were made to go. Living a different kind of life takes some guts and grit and a new way of seeing things.”
And here’s my number 1 takeaway:
Figuring out God’s will for my life (and yours) is about centering ourselves on Jesus, using our wise friends and mentors to orient us (like using stars and compass to sail), and taking the next, best step. We figure out God’s will most often in the midst of living like Christ - when we live out love in action. Like Abraham in the Bible, we figure out where we are going as we are in the midst of going.
Overall, I absolutely loved this week and it was a timely read for me in a season of significant transition in my life. I’ll definitely read it again - and you should too.
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