In the New Testament gospels, Jesus presents love as the ultimate end of a moral life. But like many Americans, I grew up in a tradition that granted “truth” co-primacy with love. We were told to make absolutely sure we held all the correct beliefs and that we needed to remind everyone who disagreed that they were wrong, wrong, wrong. Jared Byas has come along in the nick of time with a powerful book to help us dismantle these false constructs and liberate ourselves to love without constraint. Just as Jesus taught. Love Matters More is required reading for anyone who has ever felt they had to balance being correct with being loving.

Jonathan Merritt, author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch and award-winning contributor to The Atlantic

I’m the kind of person for whom the term biblical carries a lot of baggage. But I’m also the kind of person who cares about matters of faith and who longs for a relationship with Jesus that doesn’t make me feel like I’m a soldier in the Roman Empire. If you’re like me, you’ll find Love Matters More to be a cool breeze on a hot summer day, reminding you of why you fell in love with Jesus in the first place.

Mike McHargue, bestselling author of You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) and Finding God in the Waves

In Love Matters More, Jared Byas takes the discussion of love into the hard places of life. The brand of love Jesus embodies is indiscriminate, unconditional, sacrificial, and relentless—it’s the kind of love that is the identifying attribute of those who follow Jesus. Jared puts this radical call to love on the table where it belongs and draws wisdom to help others from his own struggle to love. This book will challenge, rebuke, inspire, amuse, and leave readers rethinking their own relationships. We will be healthier and truer to Jesus, and the world will be a better place for others, if we read and take to heart this revolutionary call to love.

Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women and Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World

What an amazing book! Jared Byas uses a lot of complete sentences and punctuation, and it’s relatively free of typos! It’s also beautifully provocative. Jared brings his philosophical chops to cut through the clichés and show that “speaking the truth in love” is deeper, more interesting, and far more important than our tired notions of “truth” allow. A must-read for people who actually have to engage other people.

Peter Enns, cohost of The Bible for Normal People podcast and author of How the Bible Actually Works