If you have any neighbors or co-workers who do not share your faith, I recently read a book that I?d recommend you put on your must-read list. Bob Roberts? new book, Bold as Love, talks about the author?s experiences in reaching out and building relationships with others who do not share his faith. He talks about the risks involved in such efforts, but he also challenges Christians to see such outreach as a necessary part of living the Christian faith.
One example of risk that Roberts highlights was that some members left the church he pastors when he started efforts to build relationships with Muslims. The paradox of that risk is that Roberts was leading his church into conversation without in any way compromising on principles of faith. In fact, his experiences show that such relationship-building leads to meaningful and candid opportunities to discuss faith that would be completely impossible if we view people of other faiths as enemies.
One of the great insights in his book is that when Jesus called his followers to love their enemies, he was actually asking them to do something more radical than what is suggested by a surface reading of that passage. ?Jesus was brilliant when he said this, because it is impossible to love someone and still be his or her enemy. In other words, as Christians we have no enemies.? (p. 48)
Roberts provides excellent reasons for developing relationships with those who don?t share our faith and also provides suggestions, based on his experience, to help make such relationship-building a rich and positive experience. Some of the reasons he mentions for building friendships with those who don?t share our faith include the following:
- God is ?calling all of us to love. We all get to be missionaries of love on our streets and in our neighborhoods.? (p. 17)
- ?Our faith wasn?t made to live in a vacuum or in isolation. It?s something we do face-to-face, heart-to-heart, hand-to-hand.? (p. 27)
- ?When we love boldly, God?s presence is bold upon us?. I honestly feel God?s presence at these times, stronger than nearly any other time in my life. Sometimes people in the West wonder why we see so few miracles, why we see God do so little, but it?s because our faith and love is shy and unengaging?our culture doesn?t demand radical love and obedience and yet that?s the only thing that God works in response to.? (p. 32)
Roberts lays down an excellent challenge in his book for living our Christian faith with love. Naturally, I didn?t agree with everything in Roberts? book, but I enthusiastically give his book five stars on a five-star scale and recommend his book to you if you have friends or neighbors who don?t share your faith.
Bold as Love is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
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