Book Review: The Goodness of God

The world has gone terribly wrong. 
God is going to fix it.
For his eternal glory.
And for our eternal good.

This is the theme of Randy Alcorn's little book, The Goodness of God:  Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering. 

The note on the back cover indicates that The Goodness of God is a condensed version of Alcorn's If God is Good (I haven't read it.).  In this little book--117 pages--Alcorn continually turns the reader's focus toward God's goodness and Christ's redeeming sacrifice.  I thought he did a wonderful job of thoroughly addressing a wide spectrum of material in such a brief space!  I was incredibly blessed by such a driven focus, and I'm not even "suffering" right now!

Alcorn begins by discussing the origins of evil and suffering, going back to Satan and the Garden.  He discusses many alternative explanations for suffering, firmly repudiating each one with Scripture.  Although he devotes one chapter to Christ's redemptive work on the cross, he refers to it throughout the entire book.  One particular sentence was really striking:

Because Jesus willingly entered this world of evil and suffering and didn't spare himself, but took on the worst of it for my sake and yours, he has earned my trust even for what I can't understand.

Alcorn presents such a clear picture of the gospel and man's responsibility to accept Christ's atoning work.  He pulls no punches, ending the book with a call to repentance.

In addition, Alcorn staunchly denies false teachings regarding suffering and evil:  "health and wealth" teaching, relativism, atheism, and more.

Once you see Jesus as he really is, your worldview, your goals, your affections, everything--including your view of evil and suffering--will change.

Disclaimer:  I was given a copy of this book in exchange for honest review.  All opinions expressed here are my own.