Love within Limits: Realizing Selfless Love in a Selfish World [Paperback]

Mr. Lewis B. Smedes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 11, 1989

Using as his basis the magnificent words of I Corinthians 13, author Smedes here explores how ideal love — selfless love — can take root in the crevices of a real and selfish world. Says Smedes: I want to see in a realistic way how the power of love can reshape our lives. I am not working out a “love ethic”; I do not lay down the duties of love. I assume that love is a power, and that it enables us before it obligates us. But ideal love does not work in an ideal world. It works within the limits of our ordinary lives….My object is to see how it works and what happens when it does. Frankly realistic and thoughtfully inspiring, Smedes' exploration will enable all readers to better realize both the hardships and joys of selfless love.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

(1921–2002) Was professor emeritus of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. Among his many books are Forgive and Forget, Shame and Grace, How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong?, Love within Limits, and Mere Morality.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (January 11, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080281753X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802817532
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smedes at his best, July 27, 2006

By 

Donner C. S. Tan (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love within Limits: Realizing Selfless Love in a Selfish World (Paperback)

I have been a fan of the late Lewis Smedes whose insightful writings have been a rare inspiration in the field of ethics and theology. Besides 'Forgive and forget' and 'Mere Morality', this book has been IMO one of his best works on ethics. He combines deep ethical insights with beautiful prose, that croons in your imagination long after you have put down the book. Using Paul's rhapsody on 'Agape love' in 1 Cor 13, he teases out the powerful drives of the love that knows no bounds - love does not seek its own self, love is not haughty, love has poise, love believes and risks with a kind of reckless abandonment, love hates evil, love gives hope... and at the same time holds all these superlatives in tension with the finitude of the human lover. So while the far-flung larger-than-life characteristics of love are eloquently expounded, Smedes discusses how love works itself out in our day to day world, conditioned by limited resources, human sinfulness and societal constraints. What we have is a hard-nosed treatment of the virtue of Christian love as it is exercised in the fallen world with the accompanying virtues of discernment and justice. Smedes writes with the theological acumen of Aquinas and the literary prowess of Shakespeare! Destined to be a classic.