Book Review: The Cure

Kraus, Harry. M.D. 2008. The Cure: The Divine RX for The Body of Christ--Life Changing Love.

I loved this book. It's true. I found it clear and concise. But perhaps more importantly, I found it relevant. Timely even. (Not that I'm going to break down in song...what the world needs now...is love, sweet love...)

"This book has been all about simplifying the call of Christ to his body. In one simple word, it's all about love. Maintain the basics of spiritual health, and we will all fulfill the call of God by design, by becoming the channel of love straight from the heart of God. Then we can love whomever God puts in our path. That's our calling. Simple but life-changing." (180).

I loved the message and the presentation of this one. I loved how it made sense of things. The book is about a variety of topics--the spiritual health and well being of Christians as individuals and collectively as a church, the spiritual duty of each and every Christian, etc. But above all else the book is about love--our failure to love God, our failure to love ourselves, to love our fellow Christians, to love our neighbors, to love our enemies. But the book is practical as well. The only way to "fix" what ails us to spend time with God--through prayer, through Bible reading, through worship, through study, through whatever it takes to get our attention and priorities back on what they should be.

I think this book can speak to many people. That it could be beneficial to many people. But the part that stood out to me was the author's chapter on OCD and the Christian. The chapter technically is about how difficult a time some people have loving themselves. But it is specifically about how OCD can (and does) effect Christians in their spiritual life. How their problems with OCD can bleed through into their spiritual health and well being. How these obsessions and compulsions can take on a spiritual/moral cloak and leave people feeling hopelessly and perpetually guilty and wanting to be made right with God. How spiritual disciplines or behaviors or mindsets could become ritualized compulsions. This chapter has the potential to change lives. Because to the best of my knowledge, this is the first I've ever read about it. And the fact that there could be others out there just like me...that need this just as much as I did. I think it's a real blessing.