You Are Not Forsaken: Thoughts About a Perfect Father
Book Review of Not Forsaken: Finding Freedom as Sons & Daughters of a Perfect Father, by Louie Giglio. I have one copy of this book to giveaway. Keep reading to find out more!
I am eternally and deeply grateful for Louie Giglio. As a young adult in Atlanta in my 20’s, I attended the weekly gathering he helped lead at North Point Community Church called 7:22 (named after 2 Samuel 7:22). God used a message Louie preached one night to help bring clarity to the gospel for my wife in 1997. I first heard Louie teach as a non-believer. I was intrigued and captured by what he shared every week. To say that God has used Louie in our lives in a major way is a gross understatement.
One of my favorite series I remember from Louie was his series about God being our perfect Father. I listened to him preach this series live many years ago and re-listened as he preached it more recently at Passion City Church. I was thrilled to find out he captured this series in his new book, Not Forsaken: Finding Freedom as Sons & Daughters of a Perfect Father. This series changed my view of God and fatherhood and I’m thankful he captured it in writing so many more can benefit from his wisdom.
You are Not Forsaken
We can all agree there is a deficit of good fathers in our world. We see families break down, dads desert their families, and passive dads who sit on the couch all day. Unfortunately television and social media don’t provide solid models of effective dads either. We live in a leadership crisis where fathers are not playing the role God intends them to play.
At the same time, much confusion exists about God the Father. We talk often about Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, but we don’t talk much about God the Father. Not Forsaken is a helpful theological and practical guide about the Father.
We need better and right thinking about the Father. So often people think God the Father is a reflection of their earthly fathers. And since all earthly fathers fall short in many ways, we often have a wrong picture of God the Father.
In Not Forsaken, Louie helps the reader understand that God is not a reflection of our earthly dad, but is rather the perfection of our earthly dad. This is the key message of the book and it comes through loud and clear. His other main message, not ironically since it is tied to the title of the book, is that “No matter what has happened on this side of eternity between you and your dad; you are not forsaken by God.”
Why is Not Forsaken an Important Book to Read?
I believe this is an important book and I’m very grateful I read it. As a man with four sons and three dads (biological dad, step-dad, and father-in-law), I think often about the role fathers play. I want to have a deep relationship with my children and even more so I want them to have a right view of their Heavenly Father. Louie addresses, through several different lists, our often incorrect views of God. For example, Louie talks about Scorekeeping God, Angry God, and Grandpa God, among many other incorrect views of the Father.
On a more personal note, both my biological and step fathers have passed away. I miss being able to hear “I love you” from my father. That chance is gone for me. Reading this book grew my appreciation and love for God the Father and challenged me to do a better job of personally engaging with my four sons.
The only negative I have about the book is that it includes a few different lists with attributes of God. The lists are great, but I wish Louie would have included scripture with each attribute. For example, when I read that God is the great I AM, the Lord of hosts, and our redeemer (among many other things), I’d love to know where I can read more about these traits.
One other recommendation for you: If you like audio books, get this one at Audible. Louie reads the book on the audio version, and his passion shines through in the book. He combines both the personal side of his story along with the effectiveness of his communication style. This is one that I bought both in hard copy and audiobook.
Your Turn:
I own one copy of this book to give away. Why do you want to read this book? Leave a comment below and I'll choose one person as a lucky winner!