Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

Goff tells the story of his friendship with a man called Randy, as a means to exemplify a previous transformation in the author's approach to relationships, from “fixing” people to simply being with them.

Randy is a man with a motorcycle, beard, and girlfriend—three things the young Goff aspires to have. Goff admires Randy from afar, learning later that Randy is involved with a Christian organization called Young Life. Despite an initial distance, they become friends, and Randy engages Goff in conversations about Jesus without pressing him. Planning to drop out of high school and move to Yosemite to become a rock climber, Goff visits Randy to say goodbye. To his surprise, Randy decides to join him. Their trip to Yosemite is filled with challenges. Throughout, Randy offers unwavering support.

For Goff, Randy’s behavior exemplifies the act of being with someone without judgment or agenda. Goff introduces the idea of presence over preaching, embodied in Randy's repeated phrase, “Bob, I’m with you” (3), which provided comfort and encouragement in the face of Bob’s continued disappointments. Randy’s actions, which Goff sees a self-effacing and sacrificial, demonstrated a love that was active and present. Goff explains that this experience profoundly impacted his understanding of friendship and faith, teaching him that true love and faith involve presence and sacrifice—a concept symbolized in the Christian belief of Jesus as “Emmanuel,” or “God with us” (8). Goff states that the love exemplified by Jesus, and mirrored by Randy, is not just spoken but actively demonstrated, encapsulating the idea that “Love does.”

Goff draws on a youthful experience with his friend Doug to illustrate a shift in his understanding of following God. He recounts their BB gun adventures, where they would shoot at targets in the woods, fostering a sense of adventure and camaraderie. One day, after Doug upgrades to a pellet gun, a game goes awry, and Goff is accidentally shot, leading to a makeshift surgery at Doug's house. Through this event, Doug, who doesn't fit the young Goff’s stereotype of a religious person, introduces him to Jesus—not as a distant religious figure but as someone intimately involved in the messiness and adventure of life.

Goff presents this encounter as one which challenges preconceived notions of faith, showing that God doesn't require a conformist facade but invites people into a dynamic and real relationship. Goff reflects on how, despite becoming a lawyer and living a professional life, his belief in this dynamic God has persisted. He emphasizes his belief that genuine faith in Jesus doesn't align with typicality but invites a life marked by intensity and authenticity. Goff asserts that loving God is synonymous with loving people, and Jesus calls people to live fully and love deeply, moving beyond mere appearances to a life of genuine action and presence.

Goff tells the story of Ryan. Ryan is a young man deeply in love, planning to propose to his girlfriend in a grand, whimsical fashion. Ryan approaches Goff, a complete stranger, to ask if he can use his backyard for the proposal. Charmed by Ryan, Goff agrees. Ryan’s requests increase: a dinner on the porch, friends to serve the meal, a dance, and the loan of a boat for the proposal. Goff’s story culminates in a romantic and successful event orchestrated with the help of Goff and the Coast Guard, which Goff uses to symbolize the boundless and contagious nature of love. He underscores his idea that love is an action—it does and accomplishes rather than merely contemplating. The narrative illustrates that being engaged in love means fully participating in life's adventures, much like Jesus's love for his followers, which Goff believes is grandly and ceaselessly expressive.

Goff reflects on an embarrassment during his first job as a waiter, which he tells as a humorous life lesson. Goff is delighted to be working at Lehr’s Greenhouse Restaurant, a luxurious dining venue. During his first service he strives to make a good impression but breaks wind while serving guests and is dismissed. Goff uses this story to argue that God often guides people into failure as a means of learning and growth, stressing that failure is a part of life and not something to be feared. It’s through these Iessons that one learns what truly matters, Goff states, concluding that it is worse to strive for things that don't matter than to fail at things that do.

Hoping to become a forest ranger, Goff enrolls at Humboldt State University. Learning that this career is less adventurous than he had imagined, he switches to San Diego to be near his high school sweetheart, Kathy. Kathy breaks up with Goff. Heartbroken, he makes a spontaneous trip to confront Kathy, leading to an awkward encounter and the realization that she has moved on.

Goff uses this story to argue that while he tried to manipulate circumstances to fit his desires, it was Jesus using these very circumstances to mold him. The story ends on a reflective note, using origami as a metaphor: the bends and folds in life add depth and complexity to our character, showing God’s work in shaping us through various life events.