What does it mean to love your enemies? Who are our enemies? What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Who are our neighbors? Could our enemies and neighbors be the same?

Two of the greatest commands in the Bible are “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In Luke 10 Jesus was asked by an expert in the law “Who is my neighbor?” And Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans were HATED by Jews – they would cross the Jordan River when traveling rather than go through a Samaritan town. That the Samaritan would be the “neighbor” in the parable was disgusting to the Jew – so much so that when Jesus asks “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” in Luke 10:36 the Jewish man cannot even utter the word Samaritan but responds “The one who had mercy on him.”

How do we live out these commandments? Do we? Do others? This was the question that sent Ted Dekker & Carl Medearis across the world and deep into “enemy” territory. Their goal was not to engage in political discussions but to find out if people really believe and live by the command to love your enemies. They also seek to show the one thing we all have in common: humanity.

I did not have any expectations of this book. I had not looked too deeply into the purpose of its writing but Dekker is my favorite fiction author and another of his non- fiction books The Slumber of Christianity is one of my top-ranked books of all time, so of course I was going to read it.

The book takes you on a fascinating adventure through the Middle East where Dekker & Medearis meet with the top Islamic thinkers, military, freedom fighters and activists in the world. They meet with a top university administrator, a freedom fighter, a peace activisit, Hezbollah and Hamas – each meeting is laid out in transcript form so that the reader can form their own conclusions.

The book is fascinating and well written. The narrative of their Middle East journey is complimented by easy to understand history of the region and a modern-day parable to drive the point home. The overarching theme of the book is our humanity – we are all humans with families, joys, sorrow and obstacles.

So, how do we love our enemies? We can start by trying to understand them as our neighbors.

Green by Ted DekKer is both the first and last book in the “Circle” series. I know that is really confusing but it is true. If you have read Red, Black and White then  Green is the series finale but if you have not read Red, Black and White then Green is the perfect place to start!

Ted DekKer is a seriously gifted author – all of his books are so complex both in character and story development but also in the spiritual truth he is expressing through a fictional story. I would compare DekKer as a Frank Peretti for the next generation (actually DekKer and Peretti have co-authored a book).

Green is both the end and the beginning for Thomas Hunter and the Gathering. The series is an analogy for sin entering the world, Christ’s sacrifice and plan for redemption and the coming glory of heaven. It did not disappoint but it was not my favorite in the series (I like the other 3 much better.)

I have to admit that I instantly became a fan of the series after reading Red several years ago but it is hard to describe to others the jist of the books – you get weird stares and looks like those books sound really weird! So, if you’re adventurous in your reading and you enjoy romance, fighting and intrigue you should give the “Circle” series a try. Personally, I would start with Red and end with Green.

And if you get hooked on Ted DekKer’s writings there are many, many more novels to read. But, I’ll warn you once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Most of his novels are connected in some way and you have to pay attention to where characters may show up again and how the stories intertwine! I’ve read most of his books several times just to catch the cross-overs! Happy Reading!!

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