Love is a Verb Paperback

We are all familiar with the phrase “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), and it is something we can all relate to – it makes good, biblical sense. So what about love? Gary Chapman argues that ‘love’, in the same context, holds no merit without works. It is not enough to tell somebody that you love them; you also need to show them. Ultimately, love is a verb.

We see this in the greatest declaration of love ever made; ‘for God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only Son” (John 3:16). God loved, so he sent. Chapman – author of The Five Love Languages – really draws on the importance of such an act of love, and presents a collection of personal stories to demonstrate how love really can change the world.

In Love Is A Verb, we are offered bite-size chunks of real, and often painful, situations. Penned by an array of ordinary people, Chapman allocates a chapter of his book to each of his storytellers – forty in all. In them, we are confronted with difficult family members, angry spouses, lonely children, outsiders, depression and more. Each narrator is forced – one way or another – into re-assessing their understanding of love as they are wrenched from their comfort zones. It is evident that the journey isn’t easy for them, but once they learn how to demonstrate their love for another person, their lives are changed for the better.

The short, succinct chapters are both a blessing and a burden. It makes for very light reading: but, just as you are beginning to relate to a character and a theme, the chapter comes to a swift end and you are propelled into somebody else’s story. You are certainly kept on your toes, but it’s not always a desirable position.

Overall, the many stories are packed with challenging and practical advice geared to prize you from your comfort zone, and show you what love looks like in action.