He Loved Them: Discovering Jesus’ Heart for Seekers, Sinners, Doubters, and the Discouraged (and Other People Like Us)

Religious speaker Thompson (How God Loves Us) encourages readers to love like Christ in this earnest if familiar offering. Examining how Jesus treated the “lowliest” of biblical figures, Thompson explains that Christ’s compassion allowed him to empathize with all, and that he helped rather than judged those society deemed sinful. That same response, she writes, is what Christ expects of Christians today. Reexamining scripture, Thompson unpacks how Christ’s actions served to instruct rather than condemn. In one instance, Thompson describes how Christ looked at Peter after denying him, showing Christ’s willingness to forgive; in another, she details how Jesus forgave doubters like Philip. Thompson delivers her heartfelt ode to Christ’s love in an approachable tone, though she doesn’t do much to break new ground. Nonetheless, Christian readers will find reassurance in Thompson’s promise that Jesus’s love extends from the lowliest of biblical figures to all of humanity. (Jan.)