I had the privilege to be interviewed by Vyrso on The Reckless Love of God! I'm really honored to be featured alongside some other authors that you may know. Here's the interview:
This exclusive interview is part of Vyrso’s author recommendation blog series, where you can read exclusive interviews with Christian authors and get great recommendations on ebooks that have impacted their walk with Christ.
Alex, tell us a little bit about your background. You seem to keep busy running a blog, which reflects both your love for God and cooking, and being a dedicated husband and dad. What got you started and what continues to drive you?
I absolutely enjoy my family! Downtime with them in the kitchen cooking, listening to music, and carrying on is absolutely life to me! There is nowhere else I would rather be than with them.
I got into cooking because I needed a hobby and I didn’t want one that would take me away from my family. I have an artsy streak in me, so I figured I’d give my culinary skills a go, and that scratched the itch. But as an author, past/future church planter, and doctoral student, life is most certainly busy.
What keeps me going is:
- I know that I am loved by God and empowered by his Spirit
- I am called to this and nothing else
Over the years, as you have grown in your faith, which books have made an impact on you?
Like any pastor, I could mention dozens. I read tons of academic theology as well. But if I could recommend just five books, I’d say:
1.The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning
2. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
3. Faithful Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament by Matthew Elliot
4. The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by Robert Capon
5. Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner.
These books are penned by men who are well-aware of their own brokenness before God and utter estrangement from even themselves. Over the years they have prodded me toward becoming more spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically whole as a person. By no means have I arrived, but I am indebted to these authors for their admonishments to not accept life as the way it is and to press on in the faith, finding a tender Abba Father in heaven who cares so deeply for me.
Tell us a little bit about your new release, The Reckless Love of God, and what inspired you to write it.
I was inspired to write the book a few years ago on vacation as I was thinking about and truly reveling in God’s love for the first time in my whole life. I had been a Christian since my teens, had graduated from seminary, and was pastoring my first church, but it had never really dawned on me that God knows me, loves me, and cares deeply for me, personally. [Click to Tweet!]
I wanted to write something meaningful that calls attention to the most scandalous thing in the world—God Almighty loves us as we are.
My aim is to say that God himself has burned in everlasting love for you before time began and has stopped at nothing in his pursuit of capturing our hearts and demonstrating this life-changing reality.
What are key pieces of advice you would give to those who struggle to believe that Jesus really does love them apart from their actions?
First, I’d say, Jesus loves them not just apart from their actions, but with their actions intact. That is to say, Jesus doesn’t turn a blind eye to sin. Rather, he engaged it and defeated it fully on the cross and in his resurrection. [Click to Tweet!]
Second, the ongoing narrative that we as Christians have to default to is that our word is not the ultimate authority in life. God’s Word is, and it hasn’t changed. Often, we need to dethrone ourselves, our opinions, and our harsh judgment that we lay on ourselves and feel free to drink deeply of the love of God. After all, if Jesus was breathing out prayers of forgiveness over those who had nailed him to the Cross, most certainly he burns in compassion for you today.
Finally, tell God when you question his love and ask him to help your unbelief. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. So go ahead and tell him it’s hard to believe sometimes. He can handle it.
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Find assurance of God’s love for you in Alex Early’s The Reckless Love of God: Experiencing the Personal, Passionate Heart of the Gospel.