Ajith Fernando - Reclaiming Love: Radical Relationships in a Complex World

IN HIS GREAT CHAPTER 13 in 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul concludes, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (verse 13). These are the elements of life without which it is impossible to live. Faith is that aspect built on a relationship between the truth we know and the truth we have yet to learn, as we enlarge our knowledge into the unknown. Hope casts a long shadow, even in times when it seems to have disappeared. But then comes the greatestlove. It is the supreme value and the supreme expression in a world where so often hate seems to have won the day.

As humans we long for love that brings hope and restores broken relationships. Indeed, Gods vision for humanity is that we might see his claim on us as an invitation to live and love. God offered up his own Son to pain and death because of his marvelous, unfathomable love for the world. This is the amazing story of the gospel.

It is obvious that the greatest of loves comes at the greatest cost. Such love will never come cheaply. Sometimes it takes everything you have to honor love, and it takes everything you have to honor trust. What I heard from a doctor from another faith whom I met in Pakistan and who had come to know Christ comes to my mind often. He told me about the two sentences spoken from a preacher that changed his life: In surrendering, you win. In dying, you live.

We are meant to be the hands and the arms of God. The church is called not only to bring people to God but also to take God to those who are wounded by the experiences of trying to live in this world, to touch those who are broken, to bring healing to those with damaged emotions. Meeting people where they are hurting is a vital aspect of our call to reflect God to the society in which we live.

I have known Ajith Fernando for more than three decades, and he has a unique capacity to meet people where they are hurting, whether speaking to an audience of one or one thousand. Together we have followed our separate callings to preach the gospelthe good news that God has provided a way for our redemption and our forgiveness to bring us back into relationship with him. The gospel is beautiful. It is true. It brings hope. It has transforming power.

Ajith Fernando is one of the finest biblical expositors of our time and a keenly insightful cross-cultural communicator. But he is more. He is also a friend to youth, the poor, and the downtrodden, and God has used Ajiths preaching, perceptiveness, and pathos to transform countless lives.

Reclaiming Love reflects a lifetime of wisdom from a seasoned counselor, leader, and Bible scholar. It is a masterful study of a familiar yet difficult-to-apply chapter on love. We long for a corrective within. We long for beautiful relationships. As Ajith illustrates, those two realities are made possible only through Jesus Christ, who enables us to persevere, to forgive, to surrender, and to hope. That is love and that is the gospel. I have learned much from Ajith over the years, and I know that you will be enriched as you study this book and consider the great truths of 1 Corinthians 13. I wholeheartedly recommend Reclaiming Love.