Just Love : Personal and Social Transformation in Christ

Christ-like love is more than just a compelling idea--it can change the most jaded hearts.

Everyone longs for love. Who could possibly be against it? Love seems uncontroversial: the modern-day equivalent of motherhood and apple pie.' However, might love be far more controversial--far more disruptive--than we think? Jesus was the only human to love perfectly. His love included friend and foe and was the cause of His death.

Just Love uses the Gospel readings for Lent to explore how Jesus loved, and why this love led Him to the cross. It draws out the implications of His transforming love for our individual lives, for our life as a community, and even for our economic order. Drawing on decades of inner-city ministry, the authors show that 'Christ-like love' is more than just a compelling idea. It is a powerful reality that can enable people to live out God’s just love in the most challenging of neighborhoods.

Angus Ritchie is director of the Contextual Theology Centre. He has ministered in parishes in East London for more than 15 years.

Paul Hackwood is executive chair of the Church Urban Fund. He has ministered in parishes in St Albans, Bradford, and Leicester for more than 25 years.