Love Isn’t Complicated
By John Mark Comer
Zondervan, 293 pages, $19.99
Outspoken and passionate Pastor John Mark Comer from Portland’s own Bridgetown: A Jesus Church penned his first book on love in tandem with an event put on with the same name; Loveology. It’s just that too; the study of love, more specifically; the study of God’s love for us and how we should love.
Loveology is broken down by topic; Love, Marriage, Sex, Romance and finally, Male and Female with a no-holds bar approach. Some Christians may be offended by the frankness at times but in the end, it was all by God’s design. Comer uses Hebrew words for love to lay the foundation of the origins and delve deeper into the original definitions, meanings and interpretations. Scriptures are used to back up the blueprint of his arguments. The writing is casual and breezy but packed with powerful, mind-blowing concepts that don’t come across as preachy or condemning, quite the contrary. Marriage is hard and love stinks but the attitude of the author is one of live and let live – under God’s rules because it’s a whole lot more satisfying.
“As a general rule, where the Bible is dogmatic, we should be be dogmatic. Where the Bible is ambiguous, we should be open-minded and loaded with grace. And where the Bible is silent, we should shut the heck up.”
Comer writes easily, addressing the simplicity of God’s intentions for the relationship He wants for us and our partners. He also discusses the hows and whys of how we’ve managed to distort it completely in our efforts to be politically correct or free spirited. The Q & A with his wife Tammy at the end of this book adds an intimate element to the whole.
Reading the history of marriage in the construct of God’s plan almost allows you to hear an audibly sweet sigh of relief (or maybe it’s of release) coming out of you. It’s not as complicated as we have made it. This is a book on love that should be a manual for everyone, any age preparing for a relationship. Readers will find themselves speed-reading just to take it all in and find the answers they’ve been searching for in finding their true love.
Read an interview with this author here; http://wp.me/p2DwkQ-lsZ
Reviewed by M. Chris Johnson
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