BOOK REVIEW: We talk about loving like Jesus, but how can we do that? Here’s how …

A vital end result of all that God has done to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself is His intent that we become like Jesus.

And key to being like Jesus is loving people like He did.

We really can’t be “like” Jesus if we don’t love like Him, can we?

On occasion, you’ll hear some pastors admonishing their flocks to love people the way Jesus did, but we often stop there without digging into what that really means.

How did Jesus love people?

And if we’re to love people like Jesus did, what would that look like?

Christian psychologist, professor, and author, Dr. Les Parrott focuses specifically on providing some concise answers to the question of how we can love like Jesus in his new book, “Love Like That” (published by Nelson Books).

I liked the book, but thoroughly disliked the sub-title of, “5 Relationship Secrets From Jesus.” I’m always leery when someone claims to have “secrets” from Jesus or the Bible; that denotes they have special knowledge the rest of us don’t have, or can’t get without them revealing it. And Parrott doesn’t uncover any “secrets” from the Bible. What he does do is a capable job of helping us get a handle on how we — you and me — can actually love people the way Jesus did.

The book has a simple flow — to start, Parrott lays out our great need for, and value to, us to love others the way Jesus did. That’s easy to agree with. The rest of the book is a helpful tutorial in accomplishing this grand task as Parrott identifies for his readers five components to how Jesus loved people, and helps us understand how we can build those same components into our relationships and interactions with people so we can love them the way Jesus loved people. Because the book centers around just these five components, I won’t mention them here because I think that gives away too much of the content. But I think as you delve into the book, you’ll gain valuable insight into how building these five components into your life, and being empowered in them through the Holy Spirit, really can help you love people much more like Jesus did.

True to Parrott’s writing style, you’ll find some “questions to ponder” and some self-assessments to help you take the content seriously.

While Parrott doesn’t give away any “secrets” in this book, his easy writing style delivering sound, insightful, and practical content makes getting serious about loving people like Jesus did something we can better understand and be equipped to do. Any follower of Christ who is serious about loving people like Jesus did would benefit from reading this book.

Scotty

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”