Tag: holiness

Marked By Love

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

In John 13:35, Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The one thing that should define followers of Jesus is their radical, life-changing, it-makes-no-sense kind of love. However, today’s Christians often seem to be known less for their radical love and more for what they’re against. Marked by Love is Stevens’ call to the church back to a life in which love is the default. He examines the theme of love that wound its way through the life of Jesus, as well as through the rest of the Bible.

Oh, dear friends, how I loved this book. So often, American Christians are swept up in the us-versus-them, conservative-versus-liberal, white-versus-everyone-else drama that typifies the rest of American culture. Marked by Love is both rich in Biblical theology and practical application. Most chapters start with a story from Stevens’ life before moving into a discussion of Biblical truth and an application for daily living. This is a book you will highlight and mark up and refer back to time and time again.

Favorite Passage:

Now Jesus looked directly into her eyes. He saw everything she had ever done. He immediately knew every detail of her life. She looked back, and she knew that He knew. She didn’t know how He knew, but she was sure He knew. And yet, He looked at her with such grace and love and acceptance. The words He spoke to Simon were for Simon, but they were for her as well. He didn’t talk about the men she’d been with, the unspeakable acts she had done, or the places she’d done them. He didn’t suggest that she probably got the perfume as a gift from one of her many “clients.” None of that came up. He just looked at her with the most caring and loving eyes she had ever seen—and in those eyes she saw no want or lust or disapproval. As she gazed, wanting to turn away but unable, she was sure she would never forget those eyes.
–Chapter 13 (As a commentary on the story in Luke 7 when the woman poured perfume on Jesus’ feet.)

What I Loved Most:

In my experience, most Christian Living books tend to either advocate for holiness (which seems so often to take the form of judgment, condemnation, and self-righteousness) OR radical love (which seems so often to imply that sin isn’t a big deal, that Christians aren’t to be set apart, and that we can live as the world lives). Stevens does a great job of both advocating for holiness and for love, for being a light on the hill while demonstrating the crazy love of Jesus to everyone we encounter. He is humble and genuine. He doesn’t set himself up as a teacher who knows better than you – rather, he portrays himself as a fellow imperfect journeyman, trying his best to honor God in every aspect of his life.

Read this book if you like:

Genuine faith, theology, application of faith to real life, being pushed to reconsider the way you live your life

Book Details: