Maybe You Don’t Know, You’re Beautiful

A review, The Rest of the Gospel, Chapter One:

What you don’t know, hurts a little, indeed. What if, though, within this unknown season you’re being equipped with exactly what you need in life’s next chapter? I’d like to propose a thought; coming from 20 years in church work, I claim to be no expert, though I believe the church hasn’t equipped people as it should. There is no person to blame but ourselves, for we should all be good Bereans (Acts 17:11).

Confirmed

Have you ever received a confirmation from God? Isn’t it neat when He connects the dots? Dots are meant to be connected. There is no happening in life that doesn’t come or go without God’s eye on it. As I move from dot to dot I don’t see it. Because life is a pretty big picture. The time between dots can be rough, downright wicked at times. But God brings another dot, and with it an answer, maybe even a conclusion to the hurts you just experienced. 

On the front cover of my copy of the book, The Rest of the Gospel, I’ve hand written six bullet points with a heading, “Confirmation! Connecting dots.” I had only read the introduction and chapter one at this point. I was beyond amazed at what God was already doing. Speaking clearly, connecting dots. More than I asked or imagined. I won’t bullet point them out for you, they are for me. What I will say is, as Dan Stone begins the book talking about his story, I felt I was reading my own.

Bullet point six I’ll give you. “Where’s the life?” He mentions this on page one of chapter one and it resonated loudly. 20 years as a Youth and Assistant Pastor, ups and downs, all together amazing. I wouldn’t actually trade it, it was the space I needed between a number of dots. In the midst of a thriving ministry, two churches! Having gone through divorce personally, church divisions, and then a wicked split. I still wouldn’t trade it. Space between the dots is what shapes us while shaping our life’s story in a dot-to-dot sort of way. 

My Dot-to-Dot

I was reading this book as a requirement for my Advanced Ministry Training class… I was taking this class because I went to a conference and read the speakers book… I was at the conference because I had resigned from my pastoral role… In all pride and confidence I knew why, but I really couldn’t connect the dots… But God… He is the great dot connector. I didn’t know how to ask what I felt was missing in a thriving ministry. I didn’t think I could ask it if I knew, that would be divisive. All along, God was connecting dots. 

I think many Christians are trying to connect dots in their own willpower. It’s the reason fish are jumping from aquarium to aquarium, they are on a quest for the perfect pH Balanced environment that suits all their families needs. What’s new is always the perfect fit, not because of perfection (that doesn’t exist), but because of newness. The algae is always greener on the other side, so they say.

Wondering turns to wandering pretty quickly

Fact is, many received Christ, but in time begin asking, ‘where’s the life?’ Not loudly. They just wonder. Wondering turns to wandering pretty quickly. Before Christ wandering is understandable. All we know in life is externals. It’s the only way we operate. But in Christ, we can operate out of the internal, finding life in the One who lives in us. 

Chapter one is The Gates. If you don’t enter through the first gate of salvation you’ll never understand anything internally. They explain in this first chapter that the gate named “salvation” is approached with a lot of externals, because that’s all we knew up to this point. The things that brought us meaning—friends, activities, and desires—all externals. What we realize at salvation is none of those external things get us through the gate. For me to enter through it I must strip it all off and walk through the gate naked. “I had nothing to offer God but me.” It’s true for us all. 

Saved and forgiven. They liken it to a new pair of jeans, all the vital parts are covered. New life, new identity, less externals. Then we step quickly back into putting on. Denomination is a big one. Pastor, church buildings, ministry programs… that newness is always exciting. Soon I’m identified by my religious externals. 

It was a revelation to know that my sins are forgiven. But I was still striving for life in the externals. My religious performance. The reality becomes very clear: 

Having your sins forgiven doesn’t tell you one thing about how to live the life. 

So we want a plan, a method, a scheme. We draw on the pastor, or rather drain him. Our exceptions are high. We’ve accepted Christ, know Him to be our Great High Priest, yet we still need someone to tell us what to do, then we get out there and try as hard as we can! Dan Stone says it was at this point he wrote his letter of resignation to the church/ministry. 

“Twenty-one years of trying to live for Jesus. I had known Christ for me. I had known Christ with me. I had begun to experience the concept of Christ in me, but I hadn’t yet experienced Christ as me, expressing His life as me. Rather, it was Christ in me to help me become something. To make something out of me. And I had come to my end.”

We’ve tried different things. Changing churches, denominations, habits or rituals (all externals). They all felt good for a while, but deep down we all still knew it wasn’t lasting. We had attend to a lot of services and meetings to keep the excitement alive. Yet we are still searching. Church and all its services and programs became a great need, we went to get that neediness satisfied. In the doors, filled, out the doors and back to a deep need and the lingering question, ‘where is the life?’ 

2 Corinthians 5:21 — He made me the righteousness of God in Christ

Colossians 3:12 — He made me holy

Colossians 2:10 — He made me complete

Colossians 1:22 — I was blameless in His sight. 

Saint, you too! And you are also loved. You are accepted. Strip off the externals, no matter how good they seem to be. Accept and believe the truth of who you already are in Christ. We have been crucified on the cross with Christ (Galatians 2:20). I am no longer my point of reference, He is. Christ living in me is everything, He lives His life through me, as me. If you don’t know, I pray you begin to know. 

“When you have entered into that ‘knowing’ in your inner being, no external can tell you anything about yourself. Your identity and your life come from God.” 

Maybe you don’t know it, child of God, but you’re beautiful. 

The best thing you can do with all this is trust God. Truth only transforms when it is trusted. What will you now do with this biblical truth?

The book referenced and many other valuable resources can be found in my RESOURCE PAGE. This direct book link can be found HERE.