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

Goff frequently reiterates that Jesus is calling human beings to become love. He uses the phrase “becoming love” to describe those people whom he perceives to embody compassionate love toward others. He includes individuals such as the former refugee Walter who greets new refugee immigrants at the airport with open arms and meaningful assistance, the reconstructive surgeon Randy who sought out Goff and volunteered to treat a mutilated Ugandan child without cost, and the blind para-athlete Lex, whom Goff perceives as embodying the fearless love Jesus wants everyone to attain.

What Goff means by becoming love is never clearly spelled out by the author. Goff’s intent is for readers to deduce the meaning of this phrase from the many anecdotes he uses. Often, he relates a story about certain individuals and makes pronouncements like, “I saw a guy who was becoming love” (206). There are several common qualities and behaviors he describes in those he says are becoming love. Chief among these are those whose lives are irrevocably changed, such as the two witch doctors—who previously engaged in child sacrifice—who called him from Uganda to report the kidnapping of a child for a sacrificial killing, then texted him later saying they had rescued the child (217-18).