Kaile Judge - Outside Reading Post 2 - Everybody Always by Bob Goff

 Everybody Always

Bob Goff is the author of many books written on loving others, and Everybody Always is one of those books. In just his first chapter of this book, he challenges the reader to love stronger, harder, and more selflessly than before. This first chapter is a call to more than what was. 

Chapter 1, titled "Creepy People," and in this, he starts by saying, "We don't need to be who we used to be; God sees who we're becoming- and we're becoming love." Bob starts with an illustration of how he was in a foreign country when all his belongings were stolen, he showed up at the airport to go home, but when the workers asked for tickets and identification, his pockets were empty. The worker told him he needed to prove who he was, and then Bob offered this question to the audience, "How do we prove who we are?" Bob notes that Jesus did not identify people as statues, or career, or age, or wealth, but Jesus told his people they would be known for how they love. Bob says that however, you can fall into a career, or you can work for wealth, you cannot work for love; rather, it is something "we become." 

Bob says that Christians often say that we are loving, but who we are loving towards. Kind, lovely, and humble people? People who look nice, you've known for a while, or are well respected in your town? We love the people who are easy to love, the people who make loving them as simple as coming and going, rather than staying, talking, crying, and praying continually for patience. Although the difficult, ungrateful, and unappreciative people are often the hardest to love, Jesus has called us to "love everybody, always." The best way to know how to love everybody always is to look towards the creator, author, and being or love, Jesus Christ. Christ shows us the perfect love, not that we can be perfect at love as humans, but it is an example for us to follow. He showed us this love through the most beautiful sacrifice of himself to us, for all of our sins and eternal life. Not that we all should go crucify ourselves for the sake of humanity, that would be very bad actually, but more so, this shows that love is completely and 100% selfless when done correctly and with a heart that is based on Christ. 

God does not want us to go about of lives judging one another and being spiteful. Instead, he wants us to love. It sounds simple, but love is hard; love requires discipline, honesty, and lots of sacrifice. But God would not call us out to do it if he knew we would only ever fail. That's not to say that we will always be successful in our attempts to love, but it is to say that He will not allow our loving attempts to go without fruit. Although we may lose our temper or really just not be patient with people, God offers grace, and when we are having a hard time loving others, He will still love us, and that is true love. As Bob puts it, "He wants us to grow love in our hearts and then cultivate it by the acre in the world." Growth has seasons where the crops don't reap so well, and God knows that, which is the coolest part of all. God knows all of it.