Business first. Zondervan tweeted that they were having a blog tour for this book and gave info to get a review copy. I, being the lover of review books that I am, naturally responded. They provided this book in exchange for my review here and at Amazon.
Now on to the fun stuff.
I didn’t really know what to expect, going in to the book. The title and cover were intriguing. What I didn’t expect was to be so moved by the book. My copy has post it notes everywhere and is thoroughly underlined. It’s that good.
This is from the back cover. “How should those who follow Jesus live distinctly in a time of uncertainty? How should the church respond to the moral dilemmas of our everyday lives? In Different Eyes, Steve Chalke and Alan Mann examine the underlying motivation for Christian morality and provide an insightful guide to navigating the most challenging ethical dilemmas of our modern world in a way that is faithful to the story of God’s work in Jesus.”
This book asks us to look at why we do the things we do as Christians and to investigate the motives behind them. It takes careful examination of what Jesus did and the compassion that he had and the love he showed and to whom he did these things. Confused? Sorry.
I have been on a journey for the last few years that has had me asking some pretty big questions. For example, if the church is the Body of Christ, how do we have such a reputation for spewing hate and judgment? And what do we do about that? Ignore it? Focus on showing more love? Blame it all on the crazies?
In Different Eyes, the authors look at not only Jesus words and actions, but the spirit in which he did everything. It was all done in love. Compassion, grace and mercy stemmed from that.
I don’t want to leave you with a wrong impression of the book. It covers so much more than this. It is all woven skillfully together and beautifully done.
Here are some of the tough issues the book tackles. War and Military Intervention, The Use of Wealth, Homosexuality, and Euthanasia and Assisted Dying. Yeah, your every day conversation.
Now, I’ll throw my disclaimer out there. I didn’t agree with every point the book makes. But do we ever? Unless I’m the author, I’m probably not going to agree with 100% of any book, excepting the Bible, of course.
I had many “Whoa!” moments while reading this. Either it was something affirming what I’ve already been feeling or something convicting. And like I said, my copy is underlined like crazy.
If you’d like to get a better idea of the book than I’m able to provide, they have a sample up here. Read for yourself. See if it’s something you’d be interested in reading.
I’m grateful to have come across this book. I’m developing my different eyes. Join me.
So, what’s the most moving book you’ve read lately?
