Seen. Known. Loved.: 5 Truths About God and Your Love Language

by Gary Chapman, R. York Moore

Could Your Love Language Guide You to a Meaningful Life?


In a world of varying beliefs and endless opportunities, determining how to spend our lives can seem impossible. And even more difficult than finding direction can be finding meaning. Perhaps we know what we’re most interested in, but how do we know if it has purpose?

These longings our rooted in our desire to feel God’s presence in our lives, which begins when we know how He communicates with us. Seen. Known. Loved. examines how God—the Creator of the universe—intimately communicates with each of His people. Relationships expert Gary Chapman and coauthor R. York Moore offer practical insights for how to know your own love language and how God uses it to communicate with you. When we come to understand our own unique love language, we discover how God both speaks and listens. And, therefore, how He is intimately involved in our lives in ways we have never before identified. The first step to living with meaning is living in union with our God—the source of meaning.

Genres: Christian, Self Help, Nonfiction, Love, Relationships, Psychology, Spirituality

96 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2020

About the author

Gary Demonte Chapman is an American author and radio talk show host. Chapman is most noted for his The Five Love Languages series regarding human relationships.

Reviews

[Breanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) A great book for new Christians and for those who feel like they've strayed away from Jesus. I loved this so much and through learning more about my love language and others, I feel like I have a better understanding of love and relationships and this definitely encouraged me to continue loving Christ and putting Him first in my life.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

First sentence: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? MANY OF THE PEOPLE WE ENCOUNTER are looking for more out of life. They are looking for meaning—for a purpose for existence. They want to sense that their life has value. They want to be connected to others and work together to make the world a better place. In short, they want to love and to be loved. Both of us have met hundreds of people who have shared their struggles in life with us. Most have a history of broken relationships. Beneath all of these struggles is the cry for love.

Seen. Known. Loved. is a little book just perfect for readers who have worn out their copies of any of the 5 Languages books previously published in the past few decades. It applies the 5 Languages technique to "help" readers find a way to connect with God. This is what it says in the introduction, "What can we learn about God through the five love languages? How can we connect with His love—so we actually feel it? That is what we are exploring in this little book."

I'll be honest: I found this book to be a little unnecessary. I will agree that YES people need to feel seen, feel known, feel loved. And I will agree that YES God is a God who SEES, a God who KNOWS, and a God who LOVES. But what does "Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages" have to do with the gospel?! Very little in my estimation.

The book is not clearly written enough to be a gospel presentation for nonbelievers, for so-called seekers. It introduces you to Chapman's 5 Love Languages and presents a couple of verses here and there to show that God has love languages too. That he is "communicating" to us in love languages as is evidenced in the Bible. But the emphasis seems to stay on the 5 Love Languages. And it never really explains or answers what a gospel presentation should. Who Jesus is. What he came to do. Why Jesus died. How he saves us. What he saves us from. What he saves us to. No, the emphasis is YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE WORTHY.

Okay. Maybe the target audience isn't unbelievers or seekers. Maybe the target audience is Christians. Maybe the assumption is that the target audience doesn't need to know the gospel, hear the gospel, reconnect with the gospel. It's a silly assumption since we should preach the gospel to ourselves daily, because daily we need reminders. But maybe the book is written for those that are so well-versed in the gospel that it would be a waste of time to go there. If that is the case...is the book one that satisfies?! Maybe. Maybe not. The book is redundant to anyone who regularly reads their Bible. To those who know their Bibles, the idea that God is a God who SEES, KNOWS, LOVES is nothing new. These essential doctrines are to be loved, treasured, hoped upon, lived and experienced. But this book doesn't celebrate these foundational doctrines of historic Christianity so much as proclaim how they fit into the 5 Languages program.

Quotes:
"Through your mobile device, you can read God’s words to you and experience love and companionship in a way you may never thought possible. Most people are not Bible readers, but studies have demonstrated the fact that regular Bible reading reduces stress, produces peace, and helps people live lives of love and appreciation. Why is that? Simply because there is a power in the words of God’s affirmation to us in the Bible that we cannot substitute with words from other people."
"When we hear words of affirmation coming out of our own mouths back to God, it helps us truly receive God’s words to us. And it will help us to feel more love and give more love."

[Christabelle]

Picked up this little book on a whim while I was in the library. It turned out to be a delightful reminder of the God who IS love. Hagar calls Him “The God Who Sees.” The Bible says He knows us by name. And truly we have been loved with an everlasting love. I’m glad I ran across this.

[Faith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of you are familiar with The Five Love Languages made famous by Gary Chapman. In this comprehensive and compact read, only 6 chapters long, and less than 100 pages, these five love languages are related to our relationship with God, and how we can use the ways that we show, give, and receive love to worship the one who loves us most and best.

A fairly easy read, I enjoyed the more faith centered premise, though I did feel that perhaps it was written with more new Christians in mind, I did enjoy this concise reminder.

Easy to read, straightforward and simple, it still packs a punch.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Thought provoking and reassuring.

[Erin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapman and Moore wrote this short, practical book to help Christians and people who are seeking to know more about God experience God’s love. In less than 100 pages, they uniquely explore this topic through Chapman’s popularized 5 Love Languages: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, physical touch, and quality time.

I read this book devotionally for a few days after discovering it tucked away on a shelf in my public library! It’s a great book to read personally or discuss with a small group (may be most applicable to new believers or people with questions about God). I most enjoyed thinking about how we experience God’s love in a variety of ways in our day to day lives, and that our full experience of His love comes not only with receiving what He’s already offered to us but that He’s created us to experience love through our response to Him as well. We respond to His love with words of praise and trust, obedience and service, repentance, worship, togetherness with God through His Word, and discipleship. Through these practices, we grow in our understanding and experience of what it means to be seen, known, and loved by God.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has good advice for those seeking to deepen their relationship with Christ, but the writing was ... very .... like I read it in a whisper in my head. Like it was being delivered by one of those preachers that speak softly and wear pastel button-ups. Which is not a bad thing. I just wasn't as enthused reading that style. Also, though I feel the advice given was good, the connection between the love languages and God was very weak. Had some nice prayers in it too. It's short though so maybe still work a pick-up anyways.

[Nick Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great discussion on love languages, God, and how to use them to enhance your spiritual life. For me, understanding how I am built to want love and seek God as a fulfillment for that desire was very helpful.

[Steve Kingsbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very quick read relating the 5 love languages to your personal relationship with God. In it, Gary details how God shows you each love language, and how you can demonstrate it back to God. Yes- even physical touch! This would be a great Bible study/book club book as it has potential to spark even deeper conversations. All in all, a good quick read.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book, but all opinions expressed are my own.

[Anna Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dunno. It's a really, really short book? 95-ish pages--at least based on the contents page of this e-ARC. My Kindle says its 51 minutes long (at my average reading speed), so more like a booklet.

Seen. Known. Loved: 5 Truths About God and Your Love Language rides on Chapman's earlier 5 Love Languages book(s), relating each love language to an expression of God's love. Although he (they?) explains a little bit about the five love languages in the first chapter, passing familiarity with the concept helps. I've never read any of those earlier books, but they're referenced enough in popular culture that I kinda know what they are. There's also a website quiz to discover your love languages that they refer you to.

Seeing that this rides on a whole series of books, I don't know that it presents anything new, other than that they tie it back to how you can receive and relate to God's love in each of the five love languages. While Chapman and York do quite well relating the five love languages back to God's love, I think the Physical Touch analogies kinda fail a little.

Overall, the book probably works more as a devotional or study group discussion to, uh, "unpack" the truths. Each chapter starts with a narrative, explaining the relevant love language with both generic (secular) stories and Christian ones (either current or from the Bible). The chapter closes with a "Refocus" section that directs you back to the God stuff and has either reflection questions or action items. On the other hand, coming from an angle of one who has been in church all her life, it reads rather evangelistic at points. Browsed again; based on the number of "if you have never", this book seems targetted at non-believers, or as church people would say, pre-believers.

Conclusion: this book is probably for people who already LOVE the 5 Love Languages brand and want to know how to relate it more to their lives or people who are trying to figure out this "God's love" thing.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Northfield Publishing via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Jason Muckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Seen. Known. Loved," is a short, tuned up adaptation of Gary Chapman's "The Five Love Languages" written by Chapman and R. York Moore.

This short book covers the love languages in terms of relationship not just with others, a spouse, a parent, a close friend, but also our relationship with God. It was God after all who created us out of his love. He also is the only one who truly loves us unconditionally, no matter what.

I found this new "spin" on an enduring concept to be insightful with new examples and passages of Scripture. I felt like this would be a great gift for a friend or family struggling with their relationship with God, or even someone who is curious about what a relationship with God even means.

This was worth the read. I learned some new things. I was encouraged.

I received this eBook free of charge from Northfield Publishing-Moody Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

[Alisha I · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am familiar with the 5 Love Languages and so I became interested in reading this. The general purpose of the book is how to recognize, receive, and reciprocate your love language through your relationship with God. For example: if words of affirmation is your love language...then you can access that through reading your Bible. You can reciprocate it by praising the Lord. The problem is that some of the connections are forced or unclear. For example: considering being "hugged" by God as an example of physical touch was a reach. The chapter on Acts of Service was a bit confusing and unclear. Another issue I had is the assumption that the love language you prefer to receive is the same you give. I may prefer to give gifts but prefer to receive words of affirmation. So although the idea of having your love language spoken through God is great, it just didn't seem truly feasible for all 5 languages.

[Kaitlyn Bouchillon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Skip it. Self-promotional and on the surface, this short book (less than 100 pages) doesn't add to the conversation about the Five Love Languages. You'd be much better off just reading the Five Love Languages book, if the topic interests you.

In addition, there are several generalizations and statements with no data or additional information provided, and this feels problematic as a reader. Here's an example from page 33: "The people who are most driven toward justice often don't think a lot about love, and people who are all about love aren't usually the people who are marching in our streets or fighting systemic injustices." There's no information provided to back this up, and it feels like a gross generalization.

[Shanique Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to love languages from the perspective of your relationship with God (or vice versa). Honestly this could have just been an online resource to go with the Five Love Languages book rather than a book of its own. It's kinda like a devotional, or a long blog post.

[Jeanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

God's love is an invitation to us to find our deepest sense of identity and worth in the context of a relationship with Him. The great thing about love languages is that they work both ways. No matter what our primary love language is, God is loving us in many ways, and we can respond to God in kind.

My husband and I did a couples bible study of the love languages. It opened our eyes in how to love each other and how we can bring life into our communication. This short book goes thru each of the 5 love languages in how God loves us. I was happy to see how our own love language can be damaging to our relationship but how God redeems those extremes and hurt. Usually those extremes are born from insecurities, misunderstanding, and lack of communication. God so much wants to communicate with us about love because he is LOVE.

Maybe you struggle with love. How to receive and give. Receiving is just as important as giving. We cannot give love properly if we have not received it properly. The love language of God helps in that direction. How do I receive love from God so I can love others well. It is a question that is never fully answered and is a life process. This text helps and is a great resource to that process.

A Special Thank you to Moody Publishers and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Nancy Larimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Seen Known Loved by Gary Chapman and R York Moore is a Christian Living book. Gary is an author, speaker and counselor. Gary is the author of The 5 Love Languages® series and the director of Marriage and Family Life Consultants, Inc. Gary Travels the world presenting seminars, and his radio programs air on more than 400 stations. R York Moore is also an author. We each can feel more connected to others with our love language. This is our way of communicating and connecting with others. When we know our love language we can learn how to connect more with God and others. This book helps the reader develop a deeper connection with God. It is often hard for people to connect with God and if we use their suggestions We will feel more connected with God and grow more in our Christian life. The book is a great resource for Christian counselors, pastors, and any Christian. It is practical and helpful. The insights are very good. Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, the author for allowing me to read and review this book. It is well written and so helpful for Christians today. the opinions are my own.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Chapman and R. York Moore expand the theory of the Fuve Love Languages by applying them to God's love for us. They explore how we might see God's deep love for us through words of affection spoken to us through the Bible, the blessings He gifts us, the acts of service He offers us, the quality time spent together, and even a sense of embrace by Him. Through these love languages we draw greater understanding of how we are loved, seen, known, belong, and have worth.

I found the book to be a wonderful reminder of our greatest source of love and relationship belonging to God. As a person who has lived in dependency within a relationship and alone, this book renews my understanding and practice of allowing God to fill that space within.

The book is very short at only 89 pages, and is broken up into chapters only a few pages long. This brevity allows the information and book to be completed quickly. However, I found myself reading through it slowly and lingering on the significance of their words. My pages are heavily highlighted and underlined, and I have no doubts that I will reference them often.

[C.E. Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

As strange as it sounds, one of my favorite parts of this book is the introduction. Gary and York reveal insight into their desire to create this book. York’s story especially moved me. Being raised in a family that was hostile toward God, he still sought God in his college years and fully committed to sharing God’s love with others. What an inspiration! The following is a statement is profound:

“First, every single person I’ve ever met has been deeply shaped either by love or lack of love, and second, every single person I’ve ever met desires to experience love differently, according to their love language!”

Seen. Known. Loved. is a small book, and easy to read in one sitting, but the impression it made on me is huge. It explores God’s love for us, and how we can connect better with Him. Of all the love language books I’ve read (I believe I’ve read them all) this is, by far, my favorite.

#SeenKnownLoved #LoveLanguages #MPNews

I received a complimentary copy of this book from MPNews.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seen.Known.Loved by Gary Chapman and R. York Moore is another approach into the 5 Love Languages. The 5 Love Languages were created by Gary Chapman and these love languages give insight into how we can and receive love in our lives. In this book, the authors explore relationships within these 5 love languages. The authors also explored how our love language determines how we can have a love relationship with God. The authors share their personal experiences of their own journey with God and use Scripture to gain more insight into whom God created us to be and the love relationship He wants with us.

I would recommend this book as it contains new insights into how to connect into a love relationship with God. This book gives a new perspective on how we can deepen our relationship using our love language.

[Marvy Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from Moody Publishers, via NetGalley. This review is my personal opinion.

In this book, although short we find powerful trues about the way God loves us. Gary Smalley and R. York taking the 5 love languages and remained us we are Seen. Known and Loved. It will be great before reading the book to take time and do the quiz and learn your type of love language. I liked this book is easy to read, it could be a great gift for a friend, it doesn’t matter if you are new or maybe an old believer. I know we all can relate to the struggles of being invisible, not being loved for who we are, and not known. I also like that in this era where social media every day is more and more important both authors focus on what matters and stay forever, the unchanging and perfect love of God.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was about the five love languages and meant to take them further into the application of a Christian life. How do we fill our voids with God's love? When we know how we feel loved, we can read the chapter of that love language and see how to feel loved without relying on hollow acts of that language.

The concept was great! The points were valid and did make me think about how to apply it to myself. Or identify what is already being applied.

The book was a little wordy or confusing at times but it is only about 15-20 pages per chapter and the size of the book is small as well. Short read. The have a section in red at the end of each chapter that summarizes the chapter.

Overall, it was not my favorite, but worth the quick read. If you're not a Christian, they have parts to clarify the vocab or scenarios. If anything its a book about how to fulfill your love language with God.

[Lianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

A lot of people know the five love languages and using it in their daily life. We’ve seen the impact of knowing the languages of each other.

This book is focused on the five love languages but connected how God shows His love to you.
Personally I realized the way I want to receive - is a way how I can understand and hear Gods voice. (Words of Affirmation- find it in the Bible)

There was a chapter where they started a story of a girl that is passionated for something. She was excited and tried to make a change. But after a while - she saw it wasn’t that impactful than she expected and she quit. Same for us: We start passionated and when we got bothered or something happens - we lose our passion and we quit. Isn’t the same to connect with God?

‘Love is friendship, that is on fire. It’s quiet, understands, shares and forgive.’

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the five love languages, a brief intro as to how each displays when it’s needs aren’t and are being met, and how our dominant love language impacts our relationship with God.

This is a quick and easy read with some practical suggestions about how to deepen your relationship with God based on your dominant love language. The book is written so it is approachable for people who have been Christians for years or those who have no idea who God is but may be curious. I can see this book being very helpful for people who feel a disconnect in their relationship with God as it may help give them ideas of how to make their time with God more meaningful.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am familiar with the love languages and have read other books about them, but this book did not sit well with me. I thought the concept was interesting but it fell flat. This book felt very “me-centric” and about how to feel loved by God. I felt like it was more about how I feel and what is there for me than a focus on glorifying God. I didn’t appreciate that focus and felt like it pulled away from the gospel leading toward a life to glorify God. There are some nuggets that may help some people but this is not a book I would recommend to someone.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

[Vladka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praktická a láskavá "príručka" pre kresťanov, ktorí práve stagnujú vo vzťahu s Bohom. Autori vychádzajú z Chapmanovej knihy 5 jazykov lásky, pričom využívajú poznatky z psychológie i teológie a ponúkajú konkrétne riešenia a kroky, ako sa zbaviť zaužívaných zlozvykov vo vzťahoch.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

No van las 5 porque siento que pudo ser más profundo, pero en general es una guía maravillosa, te ayuda y te da una panorámica muy interesante pero siento que queda corto en aspectos muy importantes
Dw todas formas es una lectura ligera para quien recién conozca a Dios

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed evaluating God’s love and how it shows through us and others. Also, how we can apply our understanding of God’s love to our relationships.

I would’ve love to see more scripture quoted as well as a more in depth revelation.

[Quinn Fforde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insights

[Sarah S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very low calorie book but filled with good information! I recommend reading the ones you identify with. But I liked it well enough 😁