Love Does - Book Review

I recently had the opportunity to read Love Does by Bob Goff and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I first heard of Bob Goff from reading a Donald Miller book where he mentions Goff admiringly so I was intrigued to read more about what Mr. Goff was like.

As it turns out he is a "doer", meaning he is a man of action who takes his faith very seriously, and does so by turning it into action. Love Does is the perfect title for this guy's book, because that two word statement seems to summarize his entire philosophy of life.

With that said, the book is a great read, because Bob Goff is clearly an extremely winsome person who, because of his adventurous spirit, has had some pretty incredible experiences. The basic premise of each chapter is that he at one point believed something about God, but then learned that his preconceived notion was not true and that God lead him to a different belief. Ultimately each of these learning experiences drew him to the same conclusion.... God is calling us into risky adventures where we care for other people and do wild and extravagant things on their behalf. Love Does.

I highly recommend the book as it will inspire you to take action that will benefit others.

Here are a few quotes that stood out to me......

“We sat bleary eyed at a small, beautifully apportioned, perfectly British table. A stoic server brought us our goodies, and I only made it through one finger sandwich before I looked across the table and saw a ten-year-old girl who would be thirty-five some day taking her own kids on the same kind of adventures. And I thought about what God must see when He looks at us. Like I saw my ten-year-old turning thirty-five, I imagine He sees who we’ll all become, too, if we start RSVPing yes to His invitations and go after those things He’s made us to love. It’s not all planned out for us either, and that’s where most people get too nervous to take the next step. But know this: when Jesus invites us on an adventure, He shapes who we become with what happens along the way.”

“I think God’s hope and plan for us is pretty simple to figure out. For those who resonate with formulas, here it is: add your whole life, your loves, your passions, and your interests together with what God said He wants us to be about, and that’s your answer. If you want to know the answer to the bigger question— what’s God’s plan for the whole world?—buckle up: it’s us.”

“There’s no doubt Jesus invites us to have some very cool experiences in our lives, and for that matter, in the afterlife. Jesus tells a story in the Bible about a rich guy who had a banquet. The rich guy invited lots of people, but most of them made excuses and didn’t come, so the guy sent his servants to invite other folks—but this time he invited the unlikely ones, people who normally don’t get invited to anything, folks like me. The message he had for this new round of people was simple: “There’s more room.” That was it. It wasn’t a deep theological treatise. Yet it was exactly that, deep and theological. I think life is like that banquet Jesus talked about. I think God sends out His messengers to tell everybody there’s plenty of room and there’s free food and conversation and adventure and a wonderful and generous host who has invited us by name.”

Excerpt From: Goff, Bob. “Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World.” Thomas Nelson, 2012-03-23. iBooks.
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