Friday, April 15, 2011

Book Review: I Am Not but I Know I AM

I just finished reading Louie Giglio’s book “I Am Not but I Know I AM” and I thought it was a great book. The back of the book sums it up like this: “If you see life as your own one-act play and history as your story, you could be in for a rude awakening when the curtain finally closes on your tiny tale and you discover that life wasn't all about you after all. The real story of life is God – I AM – the main character and true star of time and eternity. He is at center stage in all of Creation, and He wants you to know Him by name. Knowing I AM means celebrating your smallness in light of His greatness. Embrace the true meaning of life as you learn to work and rest in His power, spending your life for what lasts forever, the unending glory that is God’s alone.” Louie starts out the book with a couple of great personal stories that bring to light how big God really is and how small we truly are in this world. He then jumps to the story of Moses and the burning bush. Moses meets God and God gives him a better story to live, God invites Moses into God’s story and gives him a role to play. Moses asks God His name so he can tell the Israelites who sent him, and God responds with “I AM who I AM. Tell them I AM sent me to you.” Louie then goes on to explain that if God is I AM, then that means that we all are “I am not”. He unpacks just how big God is and how small are and yet God loves us and knows each one of us! Giglio does a great job of moving from the Old Testament story of Moses to the New Testament and how Jesus fulfills the name “I AM”. Giglio looks at the role of John the Baptist and how John really started the movement of baptism and yet when Jesus appeared on the scene, John didn't try and keep the spotlight on himself, he gladly pointed to Jesus saying in John 3.30 “He must become greater; I must become less.” Giglio also looks at the Sabbath and how the Sabbath is meant to take in God’s creation and worship God for all that he has done for us. All in all, I thought this was a great book. It is a good reminder to me that I am playing a role in God’s story. As Donald Miller puts it, I am a tree in a story about a forest and the story of the forest is way better than the story about the tree! God’s story started long before I was around and will continue long after I am gone, but for now we are all called to join with Him in His story…and that is awesome!

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