A review by loudgls89
God Has a Name by John Mark Comer

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

 I bought this book from the bookstall at a recent New Wine women’s day. The cover immediately stood out to me, and then when I read the blurb it felt like it was talking directly to me. 

“Many of us ache for relationship with God, yet feel distant and disconnected from him. As if he’s more of an idea we believe in our head than a person we relate to. But God has a name: Yahweh”. 

It stuck a chord with how I’ve been feeling for a while so it was an immediate purchase. I then proceeded to read the whole book in one go on the train from London to Leeds. The writing style was so natural that it was almost like having a conversation and I felt myself utterly absorbed in the book, barely aware that I was even turning pages. 

The book takes a line by line approach of looking at Exodus 34: 6-8:

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.” 

It looks at how knowing that God has a name leads you to a deeper understanding of who He is – trustworthy and unchanging. He looks at what makes God (capital G) different from the other gods in the Bible and other religions. Because of this, it would be a great introduction for new Christians – it’s not patronising in any way but truly eye opening. 

I found the book enlightening and extremely personal, like it was written directly for me. Quotes like “Here’s the truth that cuts across the universe: we become like what we worship” and “Here’s the problem, we usually end up with a God who looks an awful lot like us”. 

As I said before, I loved the tone of this book, it was very accessible and complex points are explained in a way that makes them understandable. Whether you’re a Christian or not, this book isn’t dry or complicated, it’s human and relatable. 

This isn’t the first book I’ve read by Comer, and it definitely won’t be my last, I just love his style.