Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World by Rich Villodas # WaterBrook Publisher #Christian Discipleship

 MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW

Absolutely classic and stunning writing. In this wonderful book, by Rich Villodas, before the main themes are being examined he argues that living the way of Christ's love which is good, beautiful, and kind life does not happen overnight. The fruit of holy spirit is love- it grows slowly. There is no shortcut to love. The author has associated sin with love. He deeply takes us to the forces behind the fractures - which is failure to love is equal to sin. Then what is sin? Sin is described as images of lawbreaking, trespassing, and debt. In this book, Rich reminds us the greatest commandment of Jesus- when asked with absolute clarity Jesus responds: Love is the greatest command. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Then he added, “The second important commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these” (Mathew 22:37-40)

To paraphrase the old Westminster Catechism, the chief end of humanity is "to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." The fulfillment of faith is love; sin is the negation of it. Rich, the author has explained clearly and deeply the historical and modern fractures in our world. To understand what breaks our society and sabotages the forces of our lives we need to have an understanding of both love and sin. The book is divided into three parts: In the first part, the author will "cut the world in two," exploring the ways that love, goodness, beauty and kindness get eaten from our lives and our world. The themes of sin, powers and principalities, and trauma are navigated.

In the second part, Rich focuses on how the good, beautiful, and kind life gets formed in us through contemplative prayer, humility, and the cultivation of calm presence. The final part will examine the ways all this gets embodied through healthy conflict, forgiveness, and justice.

The author points out practically and truthfully that the self giving love that stretches out to us is discovered in the cruciform love of God, in Jesus. Abide in a love that is self- giving and abundant. His is the love that forms us to become the embodiment of wholeness for a world tragically fractured and breaking apart every day. 

Thanks to Publisher WaterBrook, NetGalley and Author Rich Villodas for this advance copy in exchange of my honest review

Book Description 

We long for a good life, a beautiful life, a kind life. But clearly that’s not the world we live in. We carry the stress of our fractured world in our bodies and relationships. Families that once gathered around tables have converted those tables into walls. Hostility, rage, and offense is the language of our culture.

 
How did we lose goodness, kindness, and beauty? And more important, how do we get them back into our lives? These are the two questions crying out in our streets, homes, churches, and from deep within our souls. 

Pastor and author Rich Villodas is convinced that only Jesus offers a way of being human that is both strong and tender enough to tear down the walls of hostility we experience daily. 

In Good and Beautiful and Kind, he reveals how… 
• These three essentials are stolen by sin, powers and principalities, and trauma. 
• We can get goodness, beauty, and kindness back through contemplative prayer, humility, and the cultivation of calm presence. 
• The traits of healthy conflict, forgiveness, and justice lead to wholeness, healing, and a new collective future—when rooted in the ancient way of Jesus. 

Filled with fresh energy, classic truth, and practical solutions, this is your road map for stepping beyond distraction and division to love like Jesus. Doing so will change the atmosphere within you…and around you!

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ WaterBrook (July 12, 2022)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 12, 2022
• Pages : 230

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• Disclosure of Material: I have received a review copy of this book by the publisher in the form of e-book from NET GALLEY as Advance Reader Copy. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”