rachel_reece's review against another edition
5.0
"Humility hurts, but such is love. When love is difficult, it's often because it involves humiliation. . . When we humble ourselves, we create a vacuum, which God can step into and fill, rather than trying to manage and control things on our own. Jesus said, 'He who humbles himself will be exalted' (Luke 14:11). Waiting for God is the hard part. . . The surest way to be one with God is to accept humiliation."
"Love is not efficient. . . Jesus gets irritated when he can't be interrupted - he loves to love."
So good - my friend's mom gave it to me right before I left for Spain in 2009 for study abroad and said it changed her life. I finally read it, and it changed mine! So so good.
"Love is not efficient. . . Jesus gets irritated when he can't be interrupted - he loves to love."
So good - my friend's mom gave it to me right before I left for Spain in 2009 for study abroad and said it changed her life. I finally read it, and it changed mine! So so good.
yungokssss's review against another edition
4.0
Love didn't just walk among us. He can indwell us. Jesus repeatedly told people, "In me you'll find your deepest needs met - your need for forgiveness, love, hope, belonging, and purpose. I am what you've always been looking for."
What a fantastic book that really made Jesus come alive as more than just an abstraction. Learning about Jesus' personal philosophy was such an enriching experience. He truly exemplified living a life of complete and utter truth that coexisted harmoniously with perfect compassion. I read this book with my book club, which made for many insightful conversations, and helped me grow in true love towards others in my day-to-day. At times Miller could have done a better job at tying in his analogies, but that was the only opportunity for improvement that really comes to mind. Anyone can benefit from this - you'll come out of it a better human.
sarahs_readingparty's review against another edition
3.0
In Goodreads terms, I liked this book. The principles and the use of scripture and the story of Jesus' life... excellent! The illustrations, personal examples and the writing... a little painful at times. The author clearly loves Jesus and knows the Bible well. I was encouraged and challenged to love others well and to follow in Jesus' examples.
However, the painful points I mentioned were quite painful. I wondered if the illustrations were all real - based on friends, maybe? Some seemed contrived. What bothered me about the personal illustrations is that many of them did not paint his family members, particularly his wife, in a pleasant way. I get this is a book about learning to love like Jesus... and we ALL could use some growth in that area!! Maybe everyone in his life approved of his using illustrations about them in this book. I don't know. If he had included a caveat about that, the book would have been 10000% better in my opinion. He did include stories of his struggles, but probably because he's a man and I'm a woman I reacted more strongly to his stories and was almost insulted. His marriage does not sound like mine. Some seemed to really get at very traditional gender norms that acted like "I'm doing my wife a favor whenever I do any household chores." There was a section about love as an exchange that went something like this: "if my wife asks me to vacuum while I am watching the news, I'm sacrificing my free time for hers." More context could have made this example A-OK! But without it, it could be interpreted as a woman begging off her duties for no reason. Also, the writing just seemed awkward at times. I did read the revised edition but still some parts sounded off.
Overall, I still learned from this book and was challenged by it (not just in fuming about his gendered examples! I am not really super feminist but those aspects of the book did bother me!).
However, the painful points I mentioned were quite painful. I wondered if the illustrations were all real - based on friends, maybe? Some seemed contrived. What bothered me about the personal illustrations is that many of them did not paint his family members, particularly his wife, in a pleasant way. I get this is a book about learning to love like Jesus... and we ALL could use some growth in that area!! Maybe everyone in his life approved of his using illustrations about them in this book. I don't know. If he had included a caveat about that, the book would have been 10000% better in my opinion. He did include stories of his struggles, but probably because he's a man and I'm a woman I reacted more strongly to his stories and was almost insulted. His marriage does not sound like mine. Some seemed to really get at very traditional gender norms that acted like "I'm doing my wife a favor whenever I do any household chores." There was a section about love as an exchange that went something like this: "if my wife asks me to vacuum while I am watching the news, I'm sacrificing my free time for hers." More context could have made this example A-OK! But without it, it could be interpreted as a woman begging off her duties for no reason. Also, the writing just seemed awkward at times. I did read the revised edition but still some parts sounded off.
Overall, I still learned from this book and was challenged by it (not just in fuming about his gendered examples! I am not really super feminist but those aspects of the book did bother me!).
khaddenhorst's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Convicting in the most gentle way. I love how humbly Miller talks about his own sin and need for Jesus, and how "acceptable sins" (like pride, self righteousness) fall short of loving like Jesus. Did this while pointing me to Jesus' love.
jnepal's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes his writing wasn't very clear or easily understood, but the message comes through still. And it was a challenging read, as books of Jesus usually are!
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