David Powlison, MDiv, PhD, (1949–2019) was a teacher, counselor, and the executive director of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He wrote many books and minibooks, including Speaking Truth in Love, Seeing with New Eyes, Good and Angry, Making All Things New, God's Grace in Your Suffering, Safe and Sound, and Take Heart. David was also the editor of The Journal of Biblical Counseling.
Helpful, very brief tool for those wrestling with understanding God's love, especially those that cling to superficial, cliched or inadequate notions of what God's love means. This clarifies four aspects where we can use the phrase unconditional and four additional biblical improvements which help us see God is not complacent but even willing to be intrusive in our lives, a fuller understanding of grace which conveys the idea that God is redeeming and transforming our lives not merely tolerating or leaving it as is.
It's short and sweet but will definitely be on hand everywhere I go. This is a great reminder for whenever you are in need of a reminder of God's unconditional love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A quick, concise read that challenges us to go beyond the term "unconditional" when attempting to describe God's love, and in turn, the sort of love we are to have for one another. Powlison looks at four truths that we are trying to capture in the term "unconditional" and four biblical improvements on the term. He concludes that God's love is "contraconditional" -- contrary to what I deserve, God loves me, and He loves me enough to want to see me change. I'm free to change -- not so that I can earn His love, but because I've already received it.
Powlison doesn't waste words. I underlined at least half of the book. There's plenty to ponder in this short read.