Book Review- Surrender To Love

Title- Surrender To Love

Author- David G. Benner

Pages- 112

Publisher- InterVarsity Press

Recommend- Yes

Favorite Quote- "The point of the spiritual journey is not simply to be received back into the welcoming arms of love of the Father but to become like Father." (page 89)

I'm not really good at surrender. In fact, I'm really competitive and not much of a quitter. I've never really thought of my life as a Christ-follower of being about surrendering to love. I've thought about surrendering to Christ. I've thought about learning to love. I've thought about giving up my desires. I've thought about how to love those I don't love. I never really thought about surrendering to love.

In this book David G. Benner talks about surrendering to love which is, in essence, surrendering to Christ: "Christians often focus on obedience more than surrender." (page 10)

I started reading this book a few months ago (a side note: I have 15 books I've started and haven't finished right now). When we were heading out on vacation last month I knew I didn't want to watch TV every night. That meant I needed a book. Since this was only 112 pages it was the right choice. I knew I could finish the book, learn and feel like I accomplished something.

I'm not a ferocious reader. Reading is hard for me. This book made me think a ton. I don't think I ever picked it up and read an entire chapter (its only 5 chapters long). The way Benner writes is in such a way that it required me to stop and think. It made me evaluate how I've been living my life. It required me to stop and pray. And all of those things are really good when you're learning to surrender to love.

If you're looking for an easy read, don't grab this book. If you're looking for a challenging read that will press up against what you've thought about life and your part then go ahead and pick this up. But I am warning you that you might learn more about surrender than you wanted. Once you've learned about it, you will have to do something about it. And that could be the best thing for you!