Friday, March 26, 2010

66 Love Letters by Larry Crabb

It is not often I think of all 66 books of the Bible as love letters from God. Frankly, not all of them leave me with that warm-fuzzy feeling associated with love.

However, the author of 66 Love Letters summarized the Bible book-by-book into a dialogue with God that reveals His love for us throughout all of Scripture. I believe one of the main points of the book is that God has a specific purpose for each book of the Bible - not just as a collection of spiritual guidelines, but as one Truth with one integral message of Love.

To be honest, I found this to be a hard read for mixed reasons. I found it awkward reading a constant dialogue between God and the author. The conversations between God and the author do provide a great contrast between Holiness and humanity. I just felt like if I was having the conversation, God and I would be talking about things differently.

The book was also hard because I did not entirely agree with the author’s view and understanding of Scripture. In an extremely condensed summary of what I mean: he emphasized God’s “tough love” and down-played His tenderness. The reason for this disconnect could relate to my first point – the book reflected the author’s relationship with God, whereas my relationship with Him is in a different place, focused on different lessons to be learned at this stage in my life.

This book did challenge me in a positive way too: the author emphasized God’s will for us to desire intimacy with Him above all else. The book helped me see this in places in Scripture I had overlooked before. I am also challenged to reconsider what I value most.

I recommend this book if you are ready for a challenge. Do not read this if you are seeking entertainment or even the warm-fuzzies expected from a love letter. Be ready to consider the words of this book carefully and apply them only prayerfully.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.