Primal
Mark Batterson has quickly become one of my favorite authors of the day. Mark is a left-brained logical thinker who has also managed to harness the power of right-brain creativity and yolk the two together. In my opinion, this is a rare and valuable trait that more of today’s leaders need.
His first two books, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase dared me to chase after the God adventure for my life. I felt as if every chapter of these books dared me to go big in everything I do for God. Primal is different in that I feel as if Mark slowed down a bit in order to dig a little deeper. The entire focus of the book is an unpacking of Mark 12:30, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind and with all your strength.” This passage is what Mark calls the “Primal” Commandment, and it is the simple precept on which our entire faith is built. We are to wholeheartedly love God with our entire beings. Mark proceeds to dissect this passage and barrages us with fascinating scientific facts that engage the mind, yet woos us with true, heartfelt stories of compassion that grip our hearts. All the while making brilliant analogies between the natural world and our spiritual lives that keep me asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”.
I tend to read a lot of books through about 2/3 of the way, and then get bored. All of the good stuff is usually up front, and the last third seems to be filler that was required by the publisher to make sure they met their page quota (whatever that is). Not so with Primal. Just when I thought perhaps it was going to slow down to a crawl, it accelerated like a roller coaster as it finishes its initial slow, methodological climb, only to release into a 100mph freefall, filling the riders with adrenaline.
Mark wraps things up with a cry for reformation. Much like the last reformation that changed the world, except the rally cry of the next reformation will not be sola fida, faith alone, but amo dei, love God. This is where I found myself on my knees, confessing that perhaps I have loved my dreams more than I have loved my God. As Mark says, “Everything minus God equals nothing. God plus nothing equals everything. At the end of the day, all that matters is God”. Reformation will happen when a people begin to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. A rediscovery of something ancient, something primal. A rediscovery of the Greatest Commandment.
If you’re looking for a book to kick off the New Year, pick up a copy of Primal. You won’t be disappointed!