Love Does by Bob Goff

I’ve been hearing about this Bob Goff character for quite a while now.

Bob sounds larger than life.

Bob hugs people.  His children invite world leaders for sleepovers.  He rescues kids in Uganda, and gives them a home and an education.

Oh, and he’s a lawyer in his spare time.

To be honest, I expected his book to feel like literary Splenda.  Artificial.  Too perfect to be real.  Maybe even a little preachy and boastful.

I was wrong.

I like being this kind of wrong.

Love Does is Bob Goff’s love letter to the world.  

Bob and his family and his friends have all done some inspiring things.  But this book does not tell amazing tales lived by perfect people in exotic places under unique circumstances.

No, Love Does simply illustrates the way Bob approaches each day and each situation differently than most people do…seeking opportunities, stretching himself, and embracing God’s power to do amazing things through him.

In Love Does, Bob artfully weaves personal anecdotes together with the truth of God and the love of Jesus, with the goal of showing me how to let whimsy and love for others draw me into a deeper understanding of how God’s plans for me are far greater than anything I could plan or do for myself.

Love Does isn’t perfect.  

I am a risk manager by nature.  That part of me would have liked to see an abject failure here and there.  Not because I would take any joy in things not working out for Bob, but because I get really discouraged by things like that.  And when I see incredibly successful people, I imagine that failure never happens to them.

But Bob does talk about some things that would have set me back.  He shares how he reframed them into opportunities.  Every time.

Bob still seems a little larger than life.  But I think that’s because he lives a life that’s larger than just himself.

Bob’s stories show God’s perfection.

Never trite, never precious, Bob’s stories dance a delicate line at the brink of the audacious.  And he sincerely wants each one of us to come along for the ride with him.

Do you want to get your hands dirty and get in the middle of the action and give God a chance to show up?  Do you want to use your hands and feet to do amazing, crazy, daring things?

If you can answer yes, then take Love Does as encouragement.  Get it*.  Read it.

And start living it.

What can you do today to make love a verb?  Leave a comment…

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”