What is God Like?: A Portion from The Big Story

By Justin Buzzard

Early in the Bible, we meet a profound and compelling character: God.

But who is He? What does He have to do with the life I’m living now? Is He someone worth knowing?

Justin Buzzard, pastor of Garden City Church in Silicon Valley, examines God as a character in our lives, a person we must get to know in order to understand the Bible and the world around us.

Is God mad at me? Is He happy? Does He really know what He’s doing?

Based off one of the sermons Justin preached at the launch of Garden City Church, this short piece, taken from his book, The Big Story, will challenge your notions of “God” and what He has to do with your life.

Moody Collective Portions are short pieces of content taken from our full-length books. Our goal is to introduce our readers to a complete idea in a brief, concise, and inexpensive format. Most portions will take about 20 minutes to read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Release date: Dec 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9780802491374

Justin Buzzard

Justin Buzzard (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the founder and lead pastor of Garden City Church in Silicon Valley. Justin writes regularly at JustinBuzzard.net, speaks widely at conferences nationwide, and is part of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. He is the author of many books, including Why Cities Matter. He lives in Silicon Valley with his wife, Taylor, and their three sons.

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The following content is taken from The Big Story, by Justin Buzzard. If you own the full book already, you can find this section in chapter two.

If you are interested in hearing more from the team that facilitated this adapted content, visit moodycollective.com.

WHAT IS GOD LIKE?

Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Sometimes it doesn’t take a whole book, but just a sentence. When I was twenty years old, I asked for cash for Christmas, but instead my mom gave me a book. At first I was disappointed, but then I began reading. The book was by A. W. Tozer and was called The Knowledge of the Holy, and on the first page sat a sentence that changed my life.

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.²

This is a bold claim. It makes sense. Think about it. What you think about God is the most important thing about you because it shapes everything else in your life. What you believe (or don’t believe) about God drives how you live. If you think of God as a thunderbolt-throwing deity, watching everything you do and waiting for you to misbehave so He can blast you, that’s going to cause you to live with quite a bit of fear and anxiety. Or if you think of God as a Santa Claus in the sky who exists to give you gifts and entertain, that’s going to cause you to live as though God exists to serve your every wish and need. But if you have a true view of God, a biblical view, that will greatly affect how you live as well. A true view of God will both radically disturb your