May we love loudly

Below are a few quotes from the book "Jesus for President" by Shaine Claiborne. His views are pretty radical and might offend some people but the man radiates love and seeks to challenge the way we view freedom. Our culture usually describes freedom as "freedom from" but "freedom from" is really no definition of freedom at all. This view of freedom only pushes us farther into external things so we run to what is tangible and what we can hold on to. We run to find our identity and value there...but really it is much to shallow and broken for us.

"Once upon a time there were no kings or presidents. Only God was king. The Bible is the story of a God who is continually rescuing humanity from the messes we make of the world. God is bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. God is leading humans on an exodus adventure out of the land of emperors and kings and into the Promised Land.”

“Over and over, the people [of Israel] settled for the empty promises of empire over the eternal dreams of God. But God is relentless. God pursued, forgave, wooed them back, as a Lover.”

“So even as we see the horror of death, may we be reminded that in the end, love wins. Mercy triumphs. Life is more powerful than death. And even those who have committed great violence can have the image of God come to life again within them as they hear the whisper of love. May the whisper of love grow louder than the thunder of violence. May we love loudly.”