“Love is a do thing. It’s an energy that has to be dissipated.”
I’m beginning to clearly see the way that God is using James 1:22-25 to challenge me to DO great things for Him. Bob Goff’s newest book, Love Does, is a powerful reminder that Love doesn’t: read, study, stalk, watch, hope, or wait…it DOES. After reading this book, I want to be best friends with Bob Goff…BFF necklaces and all. I can honestly say that this book has equipped me to be a better Christ-follower, wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend, boss, and person. I want to resist the urge to do things safely and orderly when God desires for me to do GREAT things for His glory and the good of others.
I highlighted a ton of things while reading this book and have posted a list below of several of those items. I want to encourage you to go out and buy two copies of this book…one for you and one for someone that you’d like to DO something awesome and whimsical for. Even in the introduction by Donald Miller is outstanding!
- The reason Bob has impacted my life is because he loves me.
- I don’t know how to explain Bob’s love except to say it is utterly and delightfully devastating. You simply cannot live the same once you know him.
- Love is never stationary. In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.
- I used to what to fix people, but now I just want to be with them.
- The world can make you think that love can be picked up at a garage sale or enveloped in a Hallmark card. But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It’s a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright.
- I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m more afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.
- Things that go wrong can shape us or scar us.
- I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.
- And when each of us looks back at all the turns and folds God has allowed in our lives, I don’t think it looks like a series of folded-over mistakes and do-overs that have shaped our lives. Instead, I think we’ll conclude in the end that maybe we’re all a little like human origami and the more creases we have, the better.
- I used to think God guided us by opening and closing doors, but now I know sometimes God wants us to kick some doors down.
- Love is a do thing. It’s an energy that has to be dissipated.
- I used to think being a believer was enough, but now I know Jesus wants us to participate, no matter what condition we’re in.
- You know what it is about someone that makes them a friend? A friend doesn’t just say things; a friend does.
- I used to think I needed an invitation to get into most places, but now I know I’m already invited.
- He said the people who followed Him should think of themselves more like the ushers rather than the bouncers, and it would be God who decides who gets in. We’re the ones who simply show people their seats that someone else paid for.
- I used to think religion tasted terrible, but now I know I was just eating the fake stuff.
- I used to think words were all the same, but now I know there are some words I shouldn’t use.
- I used to think I had missed the mark and God was mad about it, but now I know “missing the mark” is a stupid analogy.
- I used to think rules were made by someone else, but now I know we get to make some of our own.
- I used to think life could be shared with anyone, but now I know choosing the right people is pretty important.
- I learned something hitchhiking that day. I learned that even though I needed a ride to get somewhere, I had a lot of power over who I’d hitch a ride with.
- When I don’t trust God’s forgiveness, it’s kind of like saying I really don’t believe He’s that good.
- When Jesus invites us on an adventure, He shapes who we become with what happens along the way.
- I used to think God wouldn’t talk to me, but now I know I’m just selective with what I choose to hear.
- I used to be afraid that if I was authentic I might take a hit, but now I know that being real means I will take a hit.
- In a world driven by self-promotion and spin, Jesus modeled something different for us.
- You want a mission statement to go along with being secretly incredible? Okay, here it is: “Be Awesome.” That’s it. If you want to follow Jesus’ example of how He did things, that’s probably all we’d write down instead of our otherwise heady doctrinal statements. But there’s more, I don’t think Jesus wants us to make a fashion statement or be edgy or promote ourselves on the backs of clothing and bracelets all the time either. I think instead, Jesus wants us to write “Be Awesome” on an undershirt where it won’t be seen, not on the back of a hoodie.
- All of his accomplishments were like sawdust on a carpenter’s floor compared to his desire to love God and express that in what he does.
- I used to think I could learn about Jesus by studying Him, but now I know Jesus doesn’t want stalkers.
- Palms up means you have nothing to hide and nothing to gain or lose. Palms up means you are strong enough to be vulnerable, even with your enemies. Even when you have been tremendously wronged. Jesus was palms up, to the end.
- I used to think that taking a risk would reduce the number of friends I have, but now I know that love draws more people in.