The theme of Max Lucado's new book travels a great distance. Just when we think he is taking us one place, we end up going another—and that is part of the delight of this fertile reflection on personal change.
"God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus." Starting from that simple declaration, Lucado appears to be taking us to the ways God moves us toward holiness. Of course, we do go there, but not until we first come to know the heart of Jesus, a heart that is: forgiving, compassionate, responsive, Spirit-led, hungry for worship, focused on service, honest, unpolluted, full of hope, joy-filled, and tireless to the end. In twelve chapters he takes us on a journey with select Scripture, stories, and lessons on facets of Jesus' expressed love for us. For Lucado, only until we know the heart of Jesus can we understand the changes we need to make in our lives, really appreciate our special circumstances, and fathom the depths of God's commitment to our transformation.
Along the journey's way, Lucado forces us to look at our lives from new perspectives, from uncommon angles, and often through eyes without scales. This is a book about earnestly seeking God. This is a book about being ready, every day, for the Spirit-led life.
Quaker Books: "Just Like Jesus" | newquaker.com
Copyright © 1999 by Merle Harton, Jr. All rights reserved