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Gospel-centred life

Third of a series of extracts

A life of change

God is making me more like Jesus for his glory and my good.

Consider this

You want to live for Jesus. You want to love, serve and please him. But you keep getting hit by one thing after another: unemployment, bereavement, ill health, friends letting you down.

The bottom line is you’re tired of it. You know (or at least you’ve been told) that God is both good and sovereign. How can he be both good and sovereign when all this garbage is getting dumped on you?

Read all about it

The wisdom that says, ‘if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is’, is often worth listening to. Of course, we should make Christianity the exception to that general rule.

Think for a moment or two about what the gospel claims for itself. It says that God has given himself for us in the person of Jesus Christ. Though we are hell-deserving sinners, through his death and resurrection we are forgiven, acquitted and adopted into God’s family. Having secured us for himself at such a price, He will never let us go, but has covenanted to complete the good work he has begun. He’ll bring us to glory for his glory, as we stand before him, bearing a striking family resemblance to our elder brother, Jesus Christ. Our salvation, from beginning to end, is a work of God. The gospel tells us that God has invested everything in our salvation: his glory, his honour, his reputation, himself. It does seem almost too good to be true, but let me reassure you it isn’t. We’ve got God’s word on it. But before we get too comfortable, there is one aspect of God’s character that we shouldn’t overlook — his determination.

If you really want to know how utterly determined God is, then see what happened to God the Son at Calvary. Which is why he’s willing to use any means in my life to make me more like Jesus. For his glory and my good. This provides a framework to understand my life in terms of both its purpose and its details. God is determined in his pursuit of my holiness. God is using every situation I encounter and every adversity I endure to make me more like Jesus. Let’s consider what this means in practice, by using Jesus as our reference point as we look at the issue of unemployment. How is losing my job going to make me more like Jesus? For many of us, a job involves more than simply earning a living. It’s often a means of status and identity.

So, painful as unemployment is, it’s a significant opportunity to trust my heavenly Father. By having my security and identity taken from me, who or what else do I have in the world but God? In that state of extreme vulnerability, I stand where my Saviour stood. Like him, I too must learn to trust a Father who is both good and sovereign. It’s through this trial that I become more like Jesus. I rediscover my identity in him. Even if the world considers me a nobody, I retain my true identity as a rescued sinner who, by grace, is a child of God. As for loss of income, my Father has promised to supply all my needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. I may, of course, need to downsize and downscale. Trusting my Father and not being anxious frees me to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, whatever circumstances prevail. And that, my friend, is growing more and more like Jesus. None of this is to make light of the pain of losing your job or any other difficulty that may strike. But understanding God’s great purpose for my life helps me to see the details of my life under the care of a heavenly Father. No matter how extreme my problems, there is hope and meaning because my Father is always working for my good and his glory. Too good to be true? Too good not to be true!

Biblical background: read Hebrews 12.1-11.
Questions for reflection

Consider the Christians involved in your life. Pray for them and give thanks to God for the ways in which you can see God using life’s circumstances to make them more like Jesus, for his glory and their good.

Now consider your own life and thank God for those circumstances that he is using in your life to make you more like Jesus, for his glory and your good.

Gospel-centred life is published by The Good Book Company, and includes more in-depth Bible study and discussion qustions. It is suitable for individual or group study. Price: £3.00 each, with discounts for bulk purchase. Visit http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk or call 0845 225 0880 to order.