Jesus Loves You...This I Know

By: Craig Gross, Jason Harper

Narrated by: Lloyd James

The constant noise of contemporary life makes it easy to miss the most profound message the world has ever known: Jesus loves you. Innovative teachers Craig Gross and Jason Harper will separate the religious from the real as they show how this simple truth is worth our undivided attention.

The authors weave Jesus' narrative with their own stories of serving among the "least of these" in this inspiring summons to world-changing faith. Join them as they encounter shut-ins, drunks, inmates, porn stars, and others while striving to follow Christ in their daily lives. Christian and non-Christian listeners alike will experience God's love and be challenged to take seriously the call of Jesus.©2009 Craig Gross (P)2009 Christian Audio

Good listen for non-Christians. Like me

I am not a Christian.

The fact that I cringe a bit typing that phrase is the basis of why I enjoyed listening to this audio book so much.

Craig and Jason tell the compelling story of how they get the word out that Jesus loves all people, not just all Christians or potential Christians. They say the proper role of a Christian is to demonstrate God's love, not His condemnation. Along the way. they criticize the church for practicing "believe, behave, belong" while Jesus preached "belong, believe, behave". I can relate to that.

Though I was raised in a non-religious family, I always envied believers for the comfort and belonging their belief brought them. But my attempts at joining a Christian group were not comfortable for me because it seemed that if I heard their message then decided against joining, I would be damned. That had an element of extortion to me. The other thing that really put me off was that if I ACCEPTED their belief, I'd have to believe my mom (long past away) was damned. That to me was a no-win offer.

In a nutshell, these 2 men present a much more loving and accepting vision of Jesus than anything I've heard before. It's also a well-written, easy listen with some pretty engaging stories of loss, acceptance, service and redemption. With a sprinkling of humor along the way.

If you want to learn more about them, their website is http://www.jesuslovesyou.net/.

I have to assume I'm alone in my review of this audio book because mainstream Christians are put off by their message of unconditional love and service. (In fact, Craig talks about being denounced as the "porn star pastor" among other things by conservative Christians.) Perhaps non-Christians just think "oh great, more Christian propaganda".

Say what you will about their beliefs, they walk the talk.