I have just finished a biography of Jonathan Edwards by author George M. Marsden. Most people’s only exposure to Edwards is a forced reading of his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in a high school American Literature class. This sermon heavily reflects the wrath of God, but much of Edwards’s sermons and writings dealt with the beauty of God. Marsden describes Edwards’s thoughts on the beauty of God as: “Sinful people were so preoccupied with their own pleasures that they never glimpse God’s true love. Once their eyes were opened to see the beautiful and wondrous love of the perfect Christ’s sacrifice for undeserving sinners such as themselves, they would be so drawn to that beauty that their hearts would be changed. Their most fundamental disposition would be to love God and whatever God loved.” This radical reorientation of life is a Gospel Awakening!
I find deep within myself a preoccupation with my own pleasure (or lack of) that I lose sight of the beauty of who God is in the face of Christ. I desire for the beauty of God to shape my whole life, but I am so easily distracted. How can I live every moment of my life captivated by the beauty of God? My conclusion is to live daily in full view of the cross. At one glance, I see both the infinite majesty of God’s holiness and my own brokenness and sin. The cross then becomes a reminder of God’s grace. The very thing that comforts me at the same time also convicts me. The cross keeps me both humble and hungry for God.
So this blog is an invitation for you to join me in my journey of Gospel transformation. I will share with you how the Gospel is transforming me as a man, husband, father, and pastor. I pray that you will be encouraged and have a deeper Gospel Awakening in your own life.
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