Reviews for Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus

The average rating for Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-01-16 00:00:00 James Matras ***2016 Reading Challenge - A book you previously abandoned*** I'm writing this review, having just finished the last chapter of the book, thankful that you cannot see me because I'm ugly crying. To put it in a nutshell: 5 stars, highly recommend. While I recommend it, I am also convicted that no one needed to read this book more than I did. It's a very humble book with a big impact. Timothy Keller said about this book, "If Jesus or Jesus' saving grace is just an abstraction to you, Paul Miller will be a great help in making his love a living reality to your heart." I can identify with that. Honestly, it's really hard to get to know Jesus in the gospels through all the haze of time and cultural differences. It's also hard to reconcile isolated Bible scriptures or stories with the whole life and work of Jesus. And sometimes its easier to understand a theology about Jesus than to understand theology through the person of Jesus. This book is the polished gem of Miller's own in-depth study of the person of Jesus in the gospels. It is very practical; you will leave knowing Jesus in a very concrete way. But it is also very spiritual; you will leave knowing Jesus in a very real way. Here are some gems: "We instinctively know that love leads to commitment, so we look away when we see a beggar. We might have to pay if we look too closely and care too deeply. Loving means losing control of our schedule, our money, and our time. When we love we cease to be the master and become a servant." "If the eye is the lamp of the soul, then the soul of Jesus is filled with people." "Compassion affects us. Maybe that's why we judge so quickly - it keeps us from being infected by other people's problems. Passing judgement is just so efficient." "Judging is knee-jerk, quick, and bereft of thought, while compassion is slow and thought-filled." "Judging separates and, thus, destroys community; compassion unites and creates community." "If we follow the Golden Rule, there is no guarantee that we will be treated the same in return. No one knows this better than Jesus. As he was dying on the cross, the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself!" (Mark 15:31)...The question, "Who will make the first move?" is answered. God did." "Jesus shows us that without truth, our relationships lack definition and meaning...The gift of compassion must be accompanied by the gift of truth." "He is both the true-peacemaker and the false-peacebreaker. Jesus' angry honesty disrupts false peace...Even though honesty can be painful and justice often separates, honesty and justice resolve injustice." "Compassion begins by looking at the other person. Reconciliation begins by looking at yourself...The only way to be honest without being judgmental is not by learning a principle, but by going through a process where you reflect, How do I do the same thing?" [Sorry, guys just two more!] "Evil isn't just out there. It's in us. As we've seen, Jesus repeatedly takes our pointing finger and gently turns it back toward us. He interrupts our quiet superiority and blame shifting by holding a mirror up to our faces. The problem isn't other people, it's me...Because we have trouble seeing this, we also have trouble seeing that our evil has consequences. It just doesn't seem that bad. God's anger at sin seems like an overreaction...Jesus' gift of love makes sense if we accept Jesus' assessment of us - we're empty people who need to be filled, selfish people who need to be turned outward, sinners who need to be forgiven." "When Jesus became a person, he became a person forever. He didn't just hold his nose for thirty years, and then it was all over. He, the Son of God, was permanently changed because of his love for humanity. So if loving means changes for me, that is okay - it meant permanent change for Jesus. Love is forever." These are only the tip of the iceberg. Get the book. Read the book. Learn more about Jesus.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-02-06 00:00:00 Tracy Dobbs "Love didn't just walk among us. He can indwell in us." "In love, Jesus looked at people. In faith, we look to Jesus." "Jesus has shown us how to love: Look, feel, and then help. If we help someone but don't take the time to look at the person and feel what he or she is feeling, our love is cold. And if we look and feel, but don't do what we can to help, our love is cheap. Love does both." This is my first Paul E. Miller book and it certainly won't be my last. This is a great Christian living book that focuses on loving others and uses the greatest example to follow: Jesus. Paul takes us on a journey and walks us through Jesus' life from the beginning of his ministry with examples of loving the poor, the outcast, and the forgotten; and he takes us all the way to Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and appearing to the women and disciples. And in that journey, he shows us the many examples of Jesus' love. Many of the stories are obvious (and a great reminder) but there are also some of the lesser known encounters that are great reminders as well, especially when Paul gives us historical context. And that's one thing I really like about this book; having historical biblical context to better explain. Loving people seems obvious to the Christian but we are all selfish human beings and sometimes need a gentle nudge or a swift kick in the pants for a call to action. To love others, to empathize with them, and ultimately treat them like Jesus did. This is the call to all of us who follow Jesus.