The Goodness of God

The Goodness of God, by Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn does a fantastic job of explaining why there needs to be suffering, why so much suffering and why such difficult suffering. In my humble opinion, I would not recommend this book for someone who is in the midst of suffering, but it is something every Christian (and non-Christian) should read when they are not experiencing hardships – or at least after they have come through the darkest part. Because if you are not in the middle of a crisis or pain, you will be at some time. Mr. Alcorn starts the book with a Bible based explanation of Who God is and of His attributes. This is foundational knowledge for all Christians. It is imperative that we know the God that we say we love. This book explains how tragedies that seem to, on the surface, reflect a God who does not care or is just not strong enough to stop things like tsunamis, hurricanes and kamikaze terrorist – are actually tools that God allows to happen in order to draw people closer to Him. If our lives were rainbows and sunshine all the time, would we even think about our Savior? What would we need to be saved from? Would not our own pride grow so large that we would not have time for the One who created us? This book also does a great job of explaining how popular teachings like the prosperity gospel contradict what Jesus (and the other New Testament authors inspired by the Holy Spirit) taught. Mr. Alcorn intellectually presents arguments on many different sides (atheism, prosperity, deism, other religions, universalism) and then logically presents evidence to support and contradict each one. It is written in simple enough terms that anyone should be able to understand the concepts he is presenting.

Suffering is a hard reality of this fallen world. But I am thankful for the suffering I have endured because without it, I would still be wandering far from the Lord. When I am weak, He is strong. This book brings light, God’s light, to such a sad reality.