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Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life (2008)

by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick(Favorite Author)

4.39 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

158134905X (ISBN13: 9781581349054)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Crossway Books

review 1: Elyse Fitzpatrick speaks the gospel to my soul! Her use of imagery and word pictures provide clarity and connectedness for me to the truths of Christ completed work: His incarnation, sinless life, death, resurrection and ascension are better engraved in my heart because of the way she communicates in her writing. I must admit, I initially thought "I know this stuff" and my tendency was to skim....but then the power of her explanations and word picture starting jumping off the pages and dragging me back to reread and dwell for long moments of reflection. I thought I was almost finished on arriving at chapter 11, entitled, Gospel-Centered Relationships. The Tourist-Driven Church resonated true to me! I had to linger awhile. I read and mulled over her analogies. I asked my hu... moresband to read it with me. It spoke such truth to us! We are called to live in tightly knit family relationships, not simply to enjoy the amenities, good preaching and worship style of our church. But how easily we are satisfied with shallow impersonal conversations with our brothers and sisters. The kind of fellowship Fitzpatrick refers to in this chapter, flies right in the face of the American idolatry of individualism and desire for privacy. She uses the image of the bride being prepared for her Groom, "Jesus uses sinful human beings to prepare his bride... to cleanse her, to wash her with the Word, to make her ready for her wedding day." This happens only in the context of gospelized fellowship. This kind of relating to one another requires honesty and transparency. It requires living life together and sticking with one another...it's hard work and messy business. How easy it is to just "move on" when church gets painful and difficult because of our sin or maybe simply our preferences! Our tendency is to not want to really know others and certainly not to be known in the depth of our personal depravity. I am left with Fitzpatrick's Calvin quote that reminds us to talk of the Gospel, speak of Christ in every conversation, "Every discussion where his name is not heard is pointless." This early Fitzpatrick work, Because He Loves Me, is a foundational work and an impactful read for this reader.
review 2: I'd say this was really about 4.5 stars. I think it was slightly longer than it needed to be. The main point of this book is how the God's love, as demonstrated through the life, death, resurrection and eternal reign of Jesus, affects our 'everyday' lives. The gospel shouldn't just something you believe to be saved, and then forget about as you strive to 'live a good Christian life'. This book really digs into how knowing God's love and grace transforms how you think about yourself (our identity) and about your actions(our life). God has given us a new identity, a new life in Christ, yet we often continue to live the same way we did before we knew Christ, forgetting about what it means that Jesus loves us and sacrificed himself for us and now intercedes for us, and we get discouraged if we don't see changes in our lives. Complacency sets in when we lose our focus on our first love, Jesus. Our changed lives will never come as a result of us striving to follow a bunch of rules, but as a response to God's gracious gift of forgiveness and love to us, as we rest secured in our identity as God's beloved children. less

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