The title of this book could make you think: "Uh, yeah. Of course God has a name... it's God." Or, "Yeah, he has more than one name: God, Jesus, Abba, etc., etc." What I find most unique about this book, however, is how Comer (whose writing I absolutely love) digs deeply into the most quoted part of the Bible by the Bible to figure out exactly what this name of God means. He focuses on the form of God's name that we refer to today as "Yahweh," even though this name is not an exact translation from the starkly different Hebrew language to English. All of this to say -- God's name is complicated... but also simple. It becomes complicated when one tries to fit it into a definition. But the breaking down of Exodus 34:4-7 line by line to truly comprehend who God says he is allows us to rest in a simplicity of knowing that once we see the full scope of the identity, our goal is to focus on living into that name and reflecting its owner. The brevity of who God says he is to us as his creations, his humans, his loves, is the most important thing in all of our lives. 
I can truly say I didn't know that I needed this book until I read it. Not only does it make a daunting set of verses mindblowingly interesting (when normally Exodus isn't considered the most "exciting" of books), it helps to make the cultural contexts of the Hebrew language make more sense to us modern Westerners. In essence, I believe that it makes the aspects of the God of the Old Testament -- who is also the God of today despite how different he seems -- understandable in a relational way. I can say that in my own faith, I am often daunted by the fact that I know that I won't ever be able to know everything about God no matter how many books I read or how many hours I spend highlighting and underlining the pages of my Bible. But this book, in its straightforward, realistic nature, not only puts God's name into a fitting perspective, but makes me want to seek to understand and live into that name more than ever before.



A LOT of my favorite quotes from God Has A Name:

"Here's a truth that cuts across the whole of the universe: we become like what we worship."

"There is a human bent in all of us to make God in our own image."

"We don't know what God is like, but we can learn."

"If you strip the Bible down to the core, it's a story about God, and about how we as people relate to God."

"In Jesus, we get a new, evocative, crystal-clear glimpse of what God is actually like."

"God is more of a friend than a formula."

"In prayer, we are invited to join him in directing the course of his world."

"The sun, the moon, the stars, the freckles you get on your nose in late July -- he made all of it." (I really like the intimacy of this quote)

"Jesus is God come to us."

"The reality is, planet Earth is the site of a cosmic war. So of course there's evil."

"I wonder if it's the nonspiritual things in our secular world that are the most spiritually lethal."

"God is compassionate, so we're to be compassionate." (It's as simple as that!)

"Mercy is one of those things you just can't ever have enough of."

"We're to approach the God who speaks worlds into existence with confidence."

"There are times when the healthy, emotionally mature response to evil is anger."

"To the Scripture writers, hope is the absolute expectation of coming good based on the character of God."

"God is more concerned with your long-term character than your short-term happiness."

"The empty tomb dwarfs every tragedy we ever face with his promise to make all things beautiful in their time."

"Faithfulness is long obedience in the same direction in an age of instant gratification."

"The cross was the Father and the Son working together, in tandem, to bring mercy and justice together..."

"Worship is an entire life oriented around wonder and awe at the nature of God."

"Everywhere you go... In all that you do... You are called by the name of Yahweh. And it's a really good name."

I listened to Brant Hansen all throughout my childhood when he was still one of Air 1's radio show hosts. His funny jokes and on-air personality were always mixed in with the music we would blast on our family car rides. It wasn't until I got older that my parents suggested that I start to read some of his books. Truthfully, I hadn't even been aware that he had written books. But I picked up our copy of Blessed Are the Misfits and knew within the first few pages that I had much more in common with the voice on the radio than I could have ever thought. This book, The Truth About Us, really does speak the truth. Essentially, Hansen expresses in his simple yet incredibly profound style of conversational writing that humans are not good, no matter how self-righteous we naturally are. In fact, every chapter is centered around innovative postures to help us fight against our self-righteousness and start truly living into humility. Every single chapter resonated with me in some way (and also succeeded in making me laugh at myself), especially the ones that focused on how we like to think we are in control of our lives when we are most definitely not (see Chapters 7, 16, and 17). In this season of plans being thwarted and anxiety concerning feeling out of place and out of control, this book really pointed me back to God. It provided me with explanations for my pride and refusal to say "I don't know" while also reminding me that it is imperative we get over ourselves and submit to the true authority that is Jesus. It is also a super easy read. It's hard to put down and full of really great scriptures that bolster its main ideas as well; any good book should point you back to scripture in some way, shape, or form. All in all, literally everyone should read this book because literally everyone deals with self-righteousness and can work on becoming a more humble and Christ-like individual every single day. Check out Brant Hansen's other books, too!


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Some of my favorite quotes from The Truth About Us:

"I've learned that Jesus is both terribly dangerous and terribly safe. For the proud, he is the biggest threat imaginable. And for the humble, he is the securest refuge."

"We need other people who will speak the truth to us, even when we don't want to hear it."

"We simply aren't as right, or as righteous, as we think we are."

"When we accept the reality of our own propensity to be wrong, we might be more patient with ourselves and gentler with others."

"I'm so glad for this thing called grace."

"My obedience changes my heart."

"I find I'm more prone to be for people as soon as I've prayed for them."

"We have to recognize we're self-righteous by default, and that means constantly correcting our imaginary views of ourselves."

"You can stand up, raise your right hand, and say, 'I'm not a good person. Lord, have mercy on me.' And you know what? He will." What good news this is!

"The more righteous we think we are, the more we diminish who God is, and the more we minimize what he's done for us."

"God has shown us our value through Jesus and promised us a glorious, secure future with him."

"Into this exhausting, conflicting mess steps Jesus, who loves his lost sheep." I really love this one.

"Yes, God wants our spirits broken, because if they're not broken, we will still be our own ultimate authority."

"Desperation, when it goes to Jesus, leads to peace. If our supposed goodness keeps us from desperation, we'll never get there,"

"We can just focus on today, trusting that there's a loving Father with a master plan."

"Repentance means no more attempts at self-justifying."

"We are always becoming something, even if it's not obvious to others on the outside."

"Life is better when I am conscious of being less defensive."

"... it's not our strength that can rescue us. We may as well admit it."

"Humility is realizing that we are not the authority, then submitting to the real authority."

"We're not good people, but we're deeply loved anyway." This basically sums up the whole book!