Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People

After four chapters dealing with reaching out to others in Christian love, Goff shifts his focus in Chapters 5-9 toward individual spiritual growth. The theme of Chapter 5 is a comparison of the Christian life to either a castle or a kingdom. Goff argues that a castle may be grand, but it is limited and walled off from the outside world. A kingdom, he says, is intentionally open to the world. To be a friend of Jesus, Goff asserts, one must build a kingdom rather than a castle (41-42). Goff argues that God sees all people as sons or daughters created in His image. He says turning our lives into kingdoms opens the door for unlovable people to approach us. This is God’s intention for us. He writes: “God wants me to love the ones I don’t understand, to get to know their names” (43).

As a backdrop for this topic, Goff relates being invited to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, to address a group of Christian radio broadcasters. His interactions with the limousine driver who picked him up at the airport become the template for his discussion of accepting others and getting to know them. He concludes the Chapter with a lengthy description of interacting with the driver, talking him into letting Goff drive the limousine, and pinning him with a nebulous medal as a reward for being “brave, courageous, and foolhardy (45-48).