If the measure of a book that means a lot to me is the amount of topics it provides for writing then Rediscovering God’s Love by Frank Allred must be a very good one. As I read this book I was continually challenged and found myself constantly scribbling down notes about future topics I would like to discuss on my web site.
Frank Allred is a retired Anglican minister and author of How Can I Be Sure and Fix Your Eyes on Jesus. Beyond that I know little about him, except for what he reveals in this, his most recent book.
“My concern in this book is for the churches that call themselves ‘Evangelical.’ Evangelicals who are worthy of the name are concerned to spread the Good News of the gospel as it is revealed in the Holy Scripture, and that without bias or amendment.” The topic of the book is God’s love, a love that the author feels has “been disfigured and sentimentalised” by Evangelicals. There has been a price to pay for this. “Not only has it led to the trivialising of sin and repentance but it has created a climate in the church in which the call to holiness sounds extreme and out of place… Our understanding and appreciation of the costliness of God’s love, affecting as it does the quality of our worship, has also been adversely affected.” He goes on to warn that “Readers who are looking for something novel will not find it in this book. What you will find here is a restatement of some precious truths that have been treasured by the church for centuries but are now being forgotten. For this reason – since the decline has now been with us for a long time – they may appear new to some readers.”
Through about 250 pages the author goes on to expound upon God’s love. He does so in a way that is challening, biblical and consistent with Reformed theology. Divided into two sections, the book first explores and defines God’s love and explains how Evangelicals need to discover it in a fresh way. In the second part Allred explains how Christians are to put this love into practice through their lives.
As I read I was continually struck by the wisdom God has granted to Frank Allred. I found myself longing for the day when I am this wise, knowing that this wisdom comes only with much study, much work and many years of walking with the Lord. Surely Allred is living proof of the Bible’s exhortation that we are to honor the aged for their wisdom.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rediscovering God’s Love and found that it really did do what it claimed it would. It challenged me to rediscover what it means to love God and to be loved by Him. It challenged me to learn afresh a topic I ought to know more thoroughly. I am glad to recommend this book to you.
