I had read this book years ago at the time in my life where I was working on a commitment to God. I say working on because for me it was a process~ not a one day conversion. I look back on that season and clearly see how God was pursuing me. It was a relief that my rebellious nature didn't thwart God; my mother can attest to the fact that rebellion was engrained in me from day 1. I received what I'm sure was a God-given eagerness to learn and understand that Christianity was more than church attendance. Loving God is a great book for Christians & non-Christians alike who seek to understand that faith is about having a personal relationship with God. I love this book for two reasons. For one, Colson outlines basic principles of following God. He includes obedience, repentance, belief that the word of God is inerrant, desire for holy living, and membership in the body of believers. Do I sense you are mentally checking out because this sounds dull? I can assure you that this is no bland theology book. The second reason I love it is because he illustrates each of these principles with a wide variety of testimonies. If you have ever read or heard someone's testimony, you know firsthand that it has a powerful effect. A testimony can encourage faith to grow. It can draw people to the Lord who have believed they are too inadequate or broken to become a Christian. It has the power to unite us with other believers who share the same struggles and triumphs in the faith. The beauty of sharing godly principles through personal stories is that it illustrates how God calls everyone not to be perfect but to accept his loving ability to make us perfect in spite of our sinful nature.
Some of the stories which stood out to me belonged to Augustine, a Hollywood gangster, a Russian prisoner, an elderly widow, and a corrupt politician (who also happens to be the author). It might interest you to know that Charles Colson came to Christ while he was serving a sentence in prison for his participation in Nixon's Watergate scandal. Once released from incarceration, he began Prison Fellowship, a ministry that leads inmates to Christ. While speaking in a prison chapel, Colson reflects on his, "...scholarships and honors earned, cases argued and won, great decisions made from lofty government offices. [His] life had been the perfect success story, the great American dream fulfilled. But all at once [he] realized that it was not [his]success God had used to enable [him] to help those in this prison... No, the real legacy of [his] life was [his] biggest failure-- that [he] was an ex-convict. [His] greatest humiliation-- being sent to prison-- was the beginning of God's greatest use of [his] life; He chose the one experience in which [he] could not glory for His glory." I don't know how to explain it, but these words resonated with me deeply. In my own life, it has been my lowest points that God has used to transform my life for the better. Don't worry; I'm not going to spill my testimony beans in this book review. I just wanted to convey how meaningful this book was to me as a seeker and still is to this day.
I will tell you that this book was written nearly 30 years ago (before I was even born) and may seem dated to some. I think there are some timeless qualities to each story in spite of when they took place. I'm glad I reread it because I was having a hard time remembering why it was so important to me. I'd recommend it to anyone. Colson's writing style is easy; it feels like a conversation. You can tell by the references he makes to other great Christian thinkers that he is enthusiastic about learning theology and the history of our faith. It's also a pretty quick read because the stories aren't terribly long. If you'd like to borrow a copy, I'd gladly lend you mine.
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