John Shore contacted me a few weeks back about reading his book I’m OK-You’re Not. I’m all about “free” books so I said yes.

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As I was reading the first 3 chapters I was just breezing through it. Then I hit chapter 4 What’s Love God to Do with Us? and I was stopped dead in my tracks. I wrote about it here. I won’t recount that post but these two quotes stick out to me again:

“Love is always suspect and absolutely conditional”

“And in` real, practical terms, what that always boils down to is that most of us don’t feel very lovable at all.”

I can’t imagine feeling like that. I am married to a beautiful woman who has. I guess that is why it cut so deep. I imagined Cassandra as I was reading that chapter.

John became a Christ-follower later in life. To someone like me who has been a believer since I was 5 his insights are valuable to me. At the end of every chapter he included heartbreaking correspondences he had with unbelievers. Their confessions made my heart break.

He uses the term “Normie” to describe unbelievers. He points out that most “Normie’s” are law abiding, honest and sincere people. They just don’t have a way to deal with guilt like those of us who have a relationship with Jesus.

The main point I got out of the book is those of us who are believers need to have “real” friendships with “Normie’s” and it is OK if they don’t want to be believers.

I can accept the fact that “Normie’s” may not want to become followers of Jesus but I don’t think I will ever be OK with it. Jesus wept over Jerusalem and I believe I will always be passionate about people coming to Jesus.

I highly recommend I’m OK-You’re Not. I give it 4.5 hockey sticks out of 5.