There many ways to distract people from Christians. Their focus on narrow-defined theology, churches for every thinkable target group, intolerance towards others, and obvious lack of integrity when it comes to practice what you preach. Every now and then it's important to be pointed at Jesus Christ's core message to his followers: love God and love others.

Tim Stevens in Marked by Love: It's the Only Thing That Matters strips Christianity, especially the Americanized version of it, to the basic tenets and practical consequences of love in action. Sometimes that sounds easy and cheesy, while Stevens is the first to acknowledge that loving others like you say you love God is difficult. Numerous examples from his personal life, books, and movies, as well as outreach programs in the church communities he served help to understand why God qualified Jesus as 'marked by my love' twice. As the great chapter in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians summarizes: "Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." Let people know we are Christians by our love! ( )

Tim Stevens, author of "Marked By Love," describes the current state of American society, especially believers in Jesus, so accurately and with such honesty. He speaks in a language all can understand, no churchisms, no religiousisms. Using stories from his own life, Stevens shows his audience Jesus' legacy, his real mission, was love. It is mentioned many places in the Bible and in simplest terms is: love the Lord and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). As Stevens writes, "Love is the difference maker. It changes everything" (p. 57). Imagine the society we would be living in if this principle was practiced regularly. It is a simple thing. It costs nothing in monetary terms. It is a game changer. It would be a make-over for the work environment, the political and news scene to name a few. Take the journey: be marked by love, Jesus' love. You won't be disappointed for having read this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.

“Stop telling people they need Jesus, and instead show them they matter. Stop using fear or scare tactics and start loving. Stop talking and start showing. When the people God brings into your life begin to experience a truly giving, sacrificial, unconditional, authentic, and vulnerable love from you, it will have an impact.”

Not your typical Christian nonfiction book, “Marked by Love” truly stands out in the genre. I went into this expecting to glean information about how Jesus expressed His love for us and how we, in turn, are to demonstrate that love to others, but wow, this turned out to be so much more! Many of the points that Tim Stevens articulates are anticipated, and yet he takes them further and stretches them in a way that is honest and raw and, yes, sometimes uncomfortable. An apt description for this book would be eyebrow-raising. Stevens explains that we should move past using the title of “Christians” because it has taken on such a negative connotation over the centuries and is more often than not offensive and use instead a term such as “Christ follower.” At first I was taken aback at this; however, as with so much of this book, I found that when I put aside my initial reaction and considered what Stevens was saying, I understood his point.

The best aspect of “Marked by Love” was that it was thought-provoking. It was an immersive reading experience; it didn’t just reinforce my theological views and ideas but rather challenged me to look outside the box and consider aspects of my faith and life in general in ways I hadn’t before. Stevens doesn’t purport to have all the answers, and although I didn’t always completely agree with him 100%, he expressed and explained his views logically, reaching out to the reader and drawing them in instead of just preaching to them. Many of the Scriptures used throughout the book were taken from The Message, a translation which I have not used before and which offered a new perspective on otherwise very familiar passages. Overall, I found “Marked by Love” to be radically countercultural, especially for conservative, traditionalist Christians (I should say Christ followers!), and doesn’t that also describe Jesus’ ministry during His time here on earth? Breaking down barriers and meeting people where they were with compassion, shattering hypocrisy and judgment by extending love and leaving an example for us to follow so that we can choose to be marked by love.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review. ( )