I thoroughly enjoyed reading Red Like Blood by Joe Coffey and Bob Bevington. There are eighteen chapters in the book, each considering a different aspect of grace. In every chapter, the co-authors share their own stories of how God has touched and changed them through grace. Bob’s story of his extra-marital affair and subsequent divorce is the backdrop for the book. When God went after Bob, the result was an explosion of grace which touched not just Bob’s life but many others, including that of his ex-wife. Joe is the pastor who demonstrated grace by unreservedly accepting Bob back into the church.
Red Like Blood has a very conversational, easy-to-read style. I know I’ve said it before in my book reviews but you really do feel as though you are listening to these stories from old friends over steaming mugs of tea and chocolate biscuits. At times I laughed, sometimes I cried. Above all, hope and faith grew in me that God can change even me by His wonderful grace. The best thing I can do now is to share the notes I made while reading it, along with a few quotes from the book itself to hopefully show you how good it is!
I loved chapter 4 ‘The Appearance of the Unseen God’ because it reminded me of how much God loves me and the fact that He initiates ‘exquisite’ moments with me. ‘…if Jesus was here on earth it struck him that Jesus would want to hang out with him.’
From chapter 6 ‘Independence and a Toothpick Cross’ where Joe considers a tiny model of Jerusalem: ‘…a god who will come down and die on a toothpick cross in the middle of an obscure town, in the middle of an obscure country, in the middle of an obscure planet, in the middle of an obscure galaxy is exactly the kind of God I need.’
The title of chapter 9 ‘The Math of God’ could have been off-putting to a mathematical dunce like me, but it turned out to be a fantastic read, reminding me that Jesus is my treasure and the way to get to know God better is through suffering. Bob quotes part of a talk by Joni Eareckson Tada (a quadriplegic since a diving accident in her teens): ‘God happily shares his gladness, his joy flooding over heaven’s walls, filling your heart in a waterfall of delight which then streams out to others in a flood of encouragement and then erupts back to God in an ecstatic fountain of praise. He imparts a new way of looking at your hardships. He puts a song in your heart.’
I think chapter 10 on ‘Eating Work and the Search for Satisfaction’ was my favourite in the whole book and has stayed with me since reading it. Joe states: ‘Everyone needs to feel loved and everyone needs to feel important. Let’s call it security and significance.’ Using red and green M&Ms – candy-covered chocolate sweets – to represent love (red) and feeling important (green), he challenges you to ponder where your priorities truly lie and what you are really living for. Are you stingy with your red M&Ms? Do you try to get as many green M&Ms as possible? ‘Jesus claimed he came to provide us with life and that life was going to be abundant. This life would flow out of us in a river of red and green. And then he went and died on a cross to give us that life.’
Bob shares honestly about being addicted to porn since his early teens, and how he found freedom by discovering that God is infinitely more satisfying than giving in to temptation. ‘Porn addiction is a ball and chain. Neuroscience has demonstrated it has the same effect on the human mind as heroin and is equally difficult to break away from.’
Red Like Blood is summed up: ‘This is a book about brokenness and grace and redemption. There are a thousand ways to be broken and only one way to be made whole. There are two amazing things about Christianity. The first is the power and magnificence of grace and what it does as it sinks deeper and deeper into a soul. The second is the plan of God to allow us to participate in his plan to heal the world.’
I unreservedly recommend this book, which is suitable for anyone to read since it doesn’t contain any religious jargon. Thank you to Cross-Focused Reviews and Shepherd Press for providing me with a free ecopy for the purpose of writing a review.
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