The Good and Beautiful God.

Book Review.
Smith, James Bryan. The Good and Beautiful God. Falling in love with the God Jesus knew. IVP Books. 2009.
J.S.- theology professor at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. He is a founding board member of Renovare.
Comment. Henry.
Smith is a disciple of Dallas Willard. He uses the term ‘narrative’ to describe teachings about important life principles. There are two contrasting narratives that referred to frequently, the narrative of Jesus and the narrative of the ‘world’. These are important in how we understand spiritual truth. Much of the teaching in this resource is basic to Christian apologetics. It is strongly recommended that the reading of this book be done as a group project with organized group interaction. A small group discussion guide is provided to accommodate such interaction.
We need to understand the significance of the narratives that determine how we think and live. “Spiritual formation is a combination of our action and God’s action.” (34) The narrative that God is an angry judge is not uncommon. Jesus demolishes that narrative. To have faith in Jesus, the Son of God, settles many questions. To be assured of the faith of Jesus is a great source of comfort when our faith is tested.
Gaining a good understanding of the Fatherhood of God is helpful in developing trust in God. Trust in a God who is good (love) provides a ‘firm foundation’ necessary to deal effectively with the challenges of difficult experiences of life (and death). God is indeed a generous God. Guilt and/or fear should not be our primary narrative of him.
Our performance-based culture becomes an obstacle for our acceptance and understanding of God’s love. “Lectio divina” (108) is suggested as a method of Bible reading. The holiness and love of God are compatible with his divinity. The integration of God’s love and his wrath do not call for a redefinition of the word wrath as some would suggest. “The wrath of God is pathos and not passion.” (120)
Through Jesus Christ his Son, God became“self-sacrifice” (143) for us. To experience the transforming work of God we must have an understanding of who we are in Christ, submit our will to him, and be committed to obedience. We are part of a culture that is continuously rushing around and that presents the challenge and need to “ruthlessly eliminate hurry”. Dallas Willard.