Relentless Pursuit: God’s Love of Outsiders Including the Outsider in All of Us By Ken Gire Book Review

In Relentless Pursuit, Ken Gire described his background of believing and feeling like he was an outsider. He was picked on by bullies for his red hair and wearing glasses. His father was very strict on how he dressed, his hair length, and he wasn’t allowed to go to parties with his friends. His brother told him that he thought he had ADD. He felt like an outsider the majority of his life and he wanted to gain acceptance and be included. Ken Gire wrote this book to help readers to always remember that God is actively pursuing them even when they fail. He doesn’t run away screaming and you aren’t forgotten. He told the story of Jeremiah about how God is like a lion hunting us down and destroying and messing with his life. Jeremiah felt that God wasn’t listening to his prayers and he wasn’t seeing any of his prayers answered. He clarified that he perceived that God was using him for target practice and arrows were being shot at him. Then in later verses Jeremiah rises up and declared that God is the only person he truly needs. How many of us aren’t sometimes feeling the same way?

It’s imperative to that we keep in mind that no matter how far we may choose to run or hide God is already there. Jesus never turned away people who were outsiders and loners. He would constantly stop and assist prostitutes, people with leprosy, blind individuals, and people who were down and out of the critiques. Jesus himself was an outsider and rejected by many people but Jesus still gave His time to spend with them. He loved them for who they were and he looked deeper into what they could become.

I would recommend this book to anyone who believes that they are an outsider and they are unloved. This resource will provide you with countless different characters in the Bible and historical examples of people who were considered outsiders but God was vigorously pursuing them, despite how they viewed themselves. I especially connected with how Ken Gire went into detail about how Jesus goes after the lost sheep and the outsiders. Jesus illustrated the story of The Good Shepherd and how he went after the one sheep that gets lost. The shepherd will leave his flock of sheep to explore the land to look for the one lost sheep. Because the one sheep means to the world to Jesus! In this parable, we are the sheep and Jesus is never leaving our side even when we think we are forgotten.  The truth is God wants to hold and protect you when life comes against you. Ken Gire is a huge encouragement to people who are struggling to love themselves completely! The book has brought freedom to realizing that God is listening and hearing my prayers!

“I received this book free from the publisher through the Bethany House Publishers book review bloggers program.”  

If you would like to purchase a copy of Relentless Pursuit then check it out on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Pursuit-Outsiders-Including-Outsider/dp/0764208837