Writing My Personal Meditations

To this point in my blog writing experience, I have merely added portions of messages that I have preached or taught or articles from other sources that I have found insightful. I have decided to begin the practice of writing my thoughts as I am working through the process of knowing God and making Him known.

Tonight will be a nice beginning. I have been reading a book by John Piper titled "The Pleasures of God." A wonderfully deep and life changing read. In my reading time, my mind began to wonder why people don't or can't see God the way he really is. Most people have a view of God that comes from their heritage and tradition rather than from true revelation of the scripture. For example, I have met many people who do not give God credit for their "salvation" which is really no salvation at all. How can anyone, with half spiritual eyesight not understand that they had nothing to do with God calling them to be saved.

I think its very important that we begin realizing that God is God, and that he is perfect and complete in himself, and that he is exceedingly happy in the fellowship of the Godhead. He does not need us to complete his fullness and is not deficient without us.

I know that this thinking goes against the grain of much of the church, but never the less, if we can see it as true, then we would better understand his sovereign grace and love. Unless we see God in this way, when we hear the gospel, we will fall for the trick of thinking that we are the center of the gospel. We will feel that our value is the driving force of the gospel, rather than God's value being the driving force for the gospel. In other words, we will see the gospel as God's need for us, rather than the gospel and God's sovereign grace being exactly what we sinners need in order to be rescued from death.

What makes the gospel good news for us is that God is all that we need. He does not need us, and as a matter of fact, he is estranged from us because of our sin. But as Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, "but God, because of His great love," made a way for sinners to be reconciled to Him. This is done by the Spirit, to whom he chooses, it is a gift of God.

God is the center of the gospel, he was not motivated by our value, he was not coerced or obliged to offer this powerful gift. The gospel is truly a gospel of grace!