Note: Since the writing of this book review, Jarrid Wilson has tragically passed away. He devoted his life to helping people know Jesus and to providing resources for people to find hope and victory in the area of mental health. You can learn more about Jarrid’s organization, Anthem of Hope, here.
Here are my thoughts on Love Is Oxygen by Jarrid Wilson and why you should read it.
What’s It About
Love Is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World by Jarrid Wilson is founded on this truth: you can’t live without the love of God. God’s love is the fuel of the Christian life. Through his own personal story of dealing with anxiety, depression and learning to receive God’s love, and the teaching of Scripture, Jarrid helps you to discover what God’s love is and what that means for your relationship with God and others.
Whether you are a seasoned Christ-follower, new to faith or searching, Love Is Oxygen contains powerful truth that will impact your life.
How It Impacted Me
In the first chapter, as Jarrid starts unpacking his personal story, he makes such powerful statements about the freedom we have to be honest with God about our brokenness and feelings. God can handle our anger, frustration and questions the same way He can handle our joys and our praise. What Jarrid describes sounds just like the kind of friendship and honesty with God that we see from King David in the book of Psalms in the Bible.
Part of being secure in God’s love and of real relationship with Him is knowing that you don’t have to pretend to have it all together but that He is safe place for you to vent and rest when you’re feeling overwhelmed and broken. (Psalm 62:8)
If you know me, you know that vulnerability with God is a major life theme for me, so every reminder to be open and honest with Him always cuts straight to my heart.
My Favorite Quote
“…people miss that He’s a loving Father. God isn’t out to get us, nor is He relentlessly searching for a reason to condemn. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that the last thing He would ever want to do is punish or condemn those He loves.
Rather, because He loves us, He doesn’t want us to stay in lives that keep us away from Him. He has to direct us in the ways of righteousness and truth as according to His Word, the same as any parent has to do with his or her child. His correction is actually a by-product of His love for us.” –Jarrid Wilson, Love Is Oxygen
Why You Should Read It
You were meant to live rooted in the love of God. Love Is Oxygen will be a helpful companion to you as you grow in the experience and expression of God’s love.
Each of us was designed to know God and live in relationship with Him. Each of us was designed by God to know His love, to love Him in return and to express His love to others. It’s so important that the Bible talks about it a lot. (Mark 12:28-31; John 3:16; Ephesians 3:16-19; 2 Thessalonians 3:5)
Jarrid unpacks and invites you into this way of life in a way that is refreshing and honest, true to the kind of confident vulnerability that God wants His people to have in relationship with Him.
About Jarrid Wilson
Jarrid Wilson is a husband and father, pastor, blogger, the founder of Anthem of Hope , and the author of several books. Jarrid and his wife, Juli, live in Nashville, Tennessee with their two boys. *Adapted from Love Is Oxygen
Jarrid is one of my favorite bloggers and authors. His genuine heart for God is evident in all of his work, and I’m excited to recommend his content to you. You can connect with Jarrid on Facebook and Twitter and on his website.
Get your copy of Jarrid’s book here: Love Is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World
Let’s Talk: Have you read Love Is Oxygen? What impacted you most from the book? Discuss this post in the comments below.
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