SOME GOOD NEWS

Is it just me, or has anyone else ever felt like over the years, they never really grasped the depth of what the bible was trying to tell them? I read scripture and sang hymns using words like grace, mercy, redemption and surrender among others. Oh, I know what they are in terms of definition….and don’t get me wrong, I’m fluent in “Christianeze”, both in liturgical languages, and evangelical/Pentecostal buzz words and phrases. I can pop them off with the best of them, but it’s taken a lifetime to begin to understand the depth of their meaning as I now recount the redundant and overwhelming reality of God’s implementation of these words in my life. I’m such a slow learner.

I see I’ve spent most of my life sidetracked with busyness, children, making a living and trying to do the right things the world expects of me. But after a lifetime of living, something unbelievable has happened to me…beyond the quick quips and easy answers. Life has struck me down and I’m starting to understand what God has been trying to show me for decades.

The good news is that God has not given up on me. Gospel songwriter, Joel Hemphill wrote a song entitled, “He’s Still Workin’ On Me”. A wonderful hope for us all. In the 1989 William Nicholson play, “Shadowlands”about C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy Greshem, the conclusion of the work conveys to us that the pain we feel as we get older, is God chipping away at us to make us in His image. Now that’s some Good News!!!!

“Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians1: 6)