The Great Love of God: Encountering God’s Heart for a Hostile World

by Heath Lambert, Joni Eareckson Tada (Foreword)

In this grave hour, we long to experience the embrace of infinite love from our Father in heaven. The importance of this great need is owing to an avalanche of problems that are now confronting us. We are hateful, lonely, hurting, scared, and confused. The cruelty in our culture has reached a state of emergency. Our generation has experienced the painful revelations of widespread abuse in leadership. At every turn we have come up short. No matter what we do the trouble persists and the fear remains. More connected than ever, but more divided, we cannot help but see a longing in ourselves and our neighbors for relationship, shared truth, and clarity of purpose.

In the face of animosity, failure, isolation, and betrayal is a love that speaks to our greatest longings and heaviest needs, but have we taken God's love for granted?

Now more than ever, and more than anything, people need to find their way into the compassionate embrace of their Father in heaven. The Great Love of God provides an accessible, passionate exploration of how the divine love casts out fear, provides ultimate hope, and never fails.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Counselling, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian Non Fiction, Spirituality

192 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2023

About the author

Heath Lambert (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and is the Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church Jacksonville, FL. He is also a visiting faculty member at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Lambert is the co-editor of Counseling the Hard Cases: True Stories Illustrating the Sufficiency of God's Resources in Scripture (B&H, 2012), and author of The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams (Crossway, 2011), Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace (Zondervan, 2013), and co-author of Transforming Homosexuality: What the Bible Says about Sexual Orientation and Change (P&R, 2015).

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 overuse of the word hateful for some reason it got on my nerves but otherwise excellent read. One to read again

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing, comforting, insightful, encouraging… And I enjoyed hearing Lambert’s personal testimony/story. (I listened to the audiobook.)

[Lidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book about God's love for us because the author presents the love of God as a complex character of God which includes: mercy, righteousness, justice, holly.

God's love doesn't mean He will let you succumb to sins but that He is ready to embrace you, forgive you and set you free from the sinful life you have if you let Him and accept His ALL CHARACTER!

In present day many accept love's God as a way to sin which shows that they do not know God at all, they only use Love's God to excuse their sins.

To love God means to accept Him as a whole and obey His commandments that are made for your own good but that is an individual choice. Chose God because He loves you like no other can! 🥰💗

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book by my friend, Heath Lambert. I confess, I often neglect to really ponder the love of God. Like many who grew up in the church, it is easy to assume some things about this phenomenal aspect of God's character. We've seen the abuse of the doctrine of the love of God by those in the culture who misuse the concept of God's love in an attempt to justify their sinful lifestyle but we dare not swing the pendulum the other direction and ignore this precious truth. Lambert has penned an excellent book writing about the heart of God, providing the reader an understanding of: 1) The fact that God is Love; 2) A vision of God's Love; 3) God Delights in You (that will shake your perspective some); 4) God gives you wonderful things; 5) God protects you; 6) God loves you even when life hurts; 7) How does God's love make sense in light of the reality of a place called hell?; 8) Trusting in God's Love; 9) Loving as we have been loved; 10) Obedience and God's love; and ending with a short chapter titled, "The Best Day of Your Life."

I found this to be an excellent devotional read as I worked my way through the pages, reading short sections at a time. I highly recommend this to you.

[Benjamin Reardon · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hatred, animosity, and cruelty in our world has brought us to a state of emergency, and a powerful display of infinite love is our only hope. In a crowded world, we are trapped in solitary confinement, and the only rescue we can find from our loneliness is in the acceptance of the one person whose great love we most need but stubbornly reject. Our quest for the perfect human leader repeatedly fails, but a perfectly trustworthy Leader in heaven searches for us and wants to share His love—a love that never fails, never betrays, and never abuses. As we squint in the darkness of chaos and anxiety, our only hope is to see the light of the One whose infinite love alone casts out fear. Now more than ever and more than anything, people must understand the character of the God whose great love makes us bet-ter, stronger, and wiser.”

A remarkably beautiful book, rich with comforting truths about the great love of God. I was moved to tears reading this book. Lambert presents the love of God in a remarkably understandable way and at a time when we most need the reminder. The love of God is an uncomfortable subject for me. I love truth, justice, and righteousness. The love of God has always been a harder pill for me to swallow. Lambert makes the medicine go down easier.

I found myself rejoicing time and time again. Our God loves us in such unfathomable ways. We may attempt to fathom the ways in which He loves us, but we will find ourselves unsatisfied. And this is a good thing; we ought to press on to seek His love more, for it will take not only our entire earthly existence, but also eternity to experience the great love of God. I am changed on account of this book. It is also replete with scriptural references. Lambert also expertly distinguishes God’s love for us from any mere affirmation of our sinful nature. God remains holy, righteous, totally without need of us; it is yet in His good pleasure which He saw fit to create us in order to glorify Him and to enjoy His fellowship and presence. What a gracious Father we serve!

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for our Summer Book club at church. It’s really good! Loved how Lambert wrote about God’s love. Recommend for any believer at any stage!

"The love of every other person for you is based on something about you. This is not the way God loves. everyone else loves you because of something true about you. God loves you because of something true about him. It is God's nature to love. Nothing you have ever done or ever could do will make God love you. He loves you because of who he is, not who you are. God's love flows from the fact that he is God. Love is who God is and what God does. God's love will never waver."

"The great love of God is his commitment, based on who he is, to delight in you, to give you wonderful things, and to protect you from harm. This love is the most precious reality in your life. You may not know it, but God's love defines you. God's love for you is the one thing in this world that gives your life meaning. God does not love you because you matter. You matter because God loves you."

“Sometimes God’s love protects you the most when you are least able to see it.”

[Shelley Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally took me 12 weeks to read this short book following our church summer book club schedule and I'm so glad I took my time to let it marinate. I brought this book up in conversation countless times this summer as I grew in understanding and appreciation of God's love for me.
Some of my main takeaways:
We were created by God to prioritize God. Punishment comes because we refuse repentance.
When I doubt God's faithful love to me I am making light of it and returning the greatest love with hate.
No one has ever mistreated me as much as I have God in my sin. He loved me when I was His enemy. I can love others.
His love is displayed in delay because it brings eternal gain.

[Michael Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

“God’s love is greater than the measureless galaxies and the vast expanse of creation. It stretches eternally beyond the distance of the sun and plunges forever past the depths of the deepest sea. It is broader than the sprawling sky, but nearer than the air in your lungs. God’s love is more tender than a loved one’s caress, and more powerful than a supernova’s blast. It is infinitely more beautiful than the glorious colors accompanying the setting sun. God’s love existed forever before you were born. It will endure for an eternity after you die.”

[Jeffrey McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful picture of God's overwhelming love for us.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first got this book I could not put it down. Read like 80 pages in two days (work days!). Then somehow it got lost in my many stacks of books. I picked it up a few times but could not get back into it. But picked it up yesterday and the again got engrossed in it and finished it in a few hours! Not sure why, maybe the middle was a little slow…or it may have been me. The final chapter is worth the price of the book! Great book

[Blake Western · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about God's love, a love that will never end.

[Brent Osterberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devotionally-rich without being shallow. Theologically-deep without being inaccessible.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: God loves you. God's love is greater than the measureless galaxies in the vast expanse of creation. It stretches eternally beyond the distant sun and plunges forever past the depths of the deepest sea....

Christian nonfiction. The topic/theme/subject matter is the LOVE OF GOD. The author stresses how transformative the love of God is, and how Christians sometimes don't know what quite to make of the love of God. It can be overwhelming and beyond comprehension.

Twelve chapters about the love of God. Each chapter does spend a good, solid amount of time in Scripture. This is always so important, in my opinion, when discussing any Christian doctrine but especially-especially important when addressing the attributes and nature of God. It is so important that Christians do not ADD or SUBTRACT to what the Bible reveals about the author--God. Books that are saturated in the Word are less likely--to a certain degree--to twist Scriptures and trick readers.

It is important that the concepts of LOVE and GOD'S LOVE (and mercy, lovingkindness, etc.) be discussed in light of what Scripture says and not contemporary society's concepts and ideas.

The book is also packed with the author's personal experiences and spiritual journey.

The book at times made me squirm. Some of the passages are hard to take/accept. I don't know if this is because it is literally so difficult to comprehend that God actually actually loves me (loves us). Or if the theology at times gets slightly off. I think definitely a few phrases here and there might be misinterpreted when taken out of context.

Quotes:

The love of every other person for you is based on something about you. This is not the way God loves. everyone else loves you because of something true about you. God loves you because of something true about him. It is God's nature to love. Nothing you have ever done or ever could do will make God love you. He loves you because of who he is, not who you are. God's love flows from the fact that he is God. Love is who God is and what God does. God's love will never waver.

The great love of God is his commitment, based on who he is, to delight in you, to give you wonderful things, and to protect you from harm. This love is the most precious reality in your life. You may not know it, but God's love defines you. God's love for you is the one thing in this world that gives your life meaning. God does not love you because you matter. You matter because God loves you.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a book for all people. Lambert’s personal devotion to God and His word is so clearly communicated. His personal testimony of trials and hardships throughout his life, shared through the lens of the love of God is an encouragement to anyone. His personal known and felt love of God for him and his own great love for God is seen on every page. And his genuine desire for people to know, feel and believe in God’s love is so clearly communicated as he continually points to scripture. Lambert’s writing is both profound and understandable as he addresses Somme hard topics as well. He writes very well and at the same time is easy to follow and understand and he explains theological truths! I was encouraged throughout the book, to the very last page!

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a really insightful dive into the love of God. It is powerful and impactful without being bogged down by language that is difficult to understand. It helped me to see God’s love in ways I hadn’t considered before, or in areas of life I didn’t realize were expressions of love. I already can’t wait to read it again!

“Sometimes God’s love protects you the most when you are least able to see it.”

[Sharayah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎧 A wonderful book about God’s love. I think I would have benefited from reading a physical copy of this book, although a definite perk of listening to the audiobook on Spotify was the author’s delightful southern accent. Heath Lambert did especially well in explaining how God’s love is not undermined by the existence of suffering and hell.

[Joshua Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed book!

The Great Love of God is a book masterfully woven with stories, truths, Scripture, and real transparency of how God can be experienced in a chaotic world. Get this book and read it.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy read and fantastic for new Christians. I think most developed Christians will already have a grasp for a lot of what's going on in the book theologically but the author did a great job of supporting his writing with scripture.

[April Parman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me cry a couple of times. The author wrote in a way that you can feel his heart. He backed up his points with Scripture and gave examples of God’s great love for us. A really good read.

[Paul Tautges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning and beautiful. More than once, I was moved to tears over the greatness of God's love for me.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 10-end are profound and challenging. They made the book worth the read.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that will find its home on the small book rack on my desk to be read again and again.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a companion for me in a hard time. Lambert writes this like the comforting words of a loving friend, yet he speaks to a love so much greater than his. The great love of God.

[Sara Nass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read in a while. Deep, refreshing, and personal.

[Hanna Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content of this book was great but I really struggled with the author’s writing style.

[Killer Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.72 overall rating; no place for hate among believers

[Sean Perron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable yet deep.

[Caroline Haley]

So good.

[Jess Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC book! I learned so much about the love of God and gained a deeper understanding of how God works within the framework of His glory and Love and how they are NOT in competition with each other. Such an awesome book to put a lot of things about the goodness of God into perspective. Very much worth the read!! This was one of my favorite theological books so far!