Forward Friday

Another cheesy title I know, but having these categories help me make sense of things! Forward Friday is where I will hopefully point you to some other great resources out there in the blogosphere.

Today's forward is "Seeing the Gospel in all things" from the Gospel Driven Life blog by Mark Lauterbach, a pastor with Sovereign Grace Ministries in San Diego and fellow Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Pre-season is only 3 months away! Woohoo!

The last half of the post caught my attention and encouraged me in my struggle with sin and growing a heart towards those who need the gospel:

"when God speaks of the places where he was faithful, he develops the details. When God writes about the places of failure, he speaks of his care and not their sin. He made this point -- God is forgetful of our sins. He does not summarize our lives as those moments of great transgression on our part. In our self-righteousness we make a monument to our sins and live in endless regret of them. In our pride, we make monuments to others sins and remind them of them. But God records his gracious care of us in our sin so that we see his mercy and not our evil.

There were other points as well -- but this one spoke so deeply to me. With the march of years and the experience of such profound sadness at times -- or profound awareness of my own sin -- I am apt to remind myself often of my transgressions and heartaches and let those low-water marks define my view of the past. I am called to make a list of the places of God's care and to look on those dark moments as reminders of the forgetfulness of God.

It occurs to me that there is not a more helpful word for us and for the society in which we live. What greater manifestation of grace could there be than to offer to people -- damaged by sin, hurt deeply by others -- the Gospel perspective that in Christ God sees things differently. They are not a "divorced person" -- they are not a "former homosexual" -- they are a redeemed and forgiven sinner and they can glory in their Savior. The Gospel is amazingly good news."

I've been reading the post this week and letting it encourage my soul. I hope it does the same for you as well.

Toodles,