Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 29

Controlling the Chaos of the Holiday Season

Stress studies show that a sense of control is essential to mental health. Those who survive captivity with the fewest mental scars are those who maintain as much control as possible even when so much is out of their control. They may treat their cell as a home, rearrange the “furniture,” save food and share it with others, write notes to themselves, make plans for their days, order their lives in simple ways. Prisoners who lose their sense of control lose their purpose, their self-respect, and eventually their minds.

Most of us are not prisoners, but all of us, for better or for worse, face the holidays year after year. From mid-November to early January, our lives change, bringing many things that are delightful, but which increase our pressure and fatigue. For many, the holidays seem out of control, the chaos inevitable.

Plan Now, Play Later

Much of both the financial stress and the time crunch can be avoided with planning. Buy Christmas presents in advance (when they’re on sale); plan the dinner now, watch for food sales and buy, prep and freeze it early; say “no” to extra engagements around Christmas; buy next year’s cards the day after Christmas (best sale day of the year) and begin writing them in October (do wait until December to mail them). Nanci and I don’t send Christmas cards, we send Thanksgiving cards. It’s more special then, and we don’t have to add it to December’s responsibilities.

To avoid the Christmas chaos of children opening ten presents in one night, spread out the presents the week before Christmas, letting them open one a day. Or, better yet, simplify by making useful gifts for each other and encouraging grandparents and friends to limit presents to one per person. Gifting to the needy something related to and in honor of your family members’ interests through Samaritan’s Purse, Africa New Life or similar ministries adds an eternal benefit along with the benefits of ease (no wrapping, broken and missing parts or storage issues).

Set aside time to read the Christmas story unrushed.

This is just a beginning. You can make dozens of changes. You cannot eliminate all holiday stress of course, but you can certainly minimize it. And if you don’t, remember, it’s not because you couldn’t but because you didn’t. It’s your choice.

For years I lived under the tyranny of the telephone. I treated the ringing of the phone as a divine mandate, and I missed too many dinners and bedtime prayers with my daughters because of that phone—no, actually because of my choice to answer the phone.

Finally I discovered something that changed my life: phone calls are seldom from Mt. Sinai. There are few true emergencies and it won’t hurt people to wait an hour or a day for me to call. When my daughters were growing up there weren’t cell phones, and one of the best things about going out for the evening as a family was that nobody could reach us! We can do the same thing now—but it requires silencing the phone. You don’t have to see who’s calling, texting, tweeting, Facebooking, or…fill in the blank. In fact, if you do, you’re saying they are more important than the people you are with. As Jim Elliot once said, “Wherever you are, be all there.”

The phone is our servant, not our master. I still get notifications on my phone at all hours. I just don’t necessarily answer them right away! And I live guilt-free, because I know it’s what God wants. Looking back, I’m amazed and embarrassed that until I was thirty I let that piece of technology disrupt me and my family. All because I didn’t take control. Thank you, Lord, for waking me up when you did!

Dealing With Your Own Stressors

Whether Christmas or the telephone are a problem for you, or you worry about losing your job or you’re concerned about a friend who is facing a divorce, list circumstances or situations in your life that trigger a stress response. Put them in one of the following categories: uncontrollable, controllable, and partly controllable.

After you identify the sources of stress and determine which ones you can control—even partially—jot down specifically what you can do about them. Make your plan, schedule the time to do it, then follow through and implement the necessary changes.

While there is much we can’t control, we can always follow God’s formula for dealing with stress by praying. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, ESV). Sometimes we desperately want to take control when we cannot. But we know and trust the One who is in control and that’s where we rest.

Can You Take Control and Still Trust God?

How do self-control and spirit-control relate to each other? How can we reconcile those passages of Scripture that emphasize waiting on a sovereign God with those that emphasize our responsibility to take action? This is a tension that Paul felt, but clearly he saw God at work through his own efforts: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which he so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29).

There is a time to work for change, a time to leave change to God, and a time to accept the fact that change will probably not happen. My own rule of thumb is “Don’t play dead, but don’t play God.”

One of the most significant findings in psychology in the past twenty years is that individuals can choose the way they think. This corresponds with Scripture, which tells us we are to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] minds” (Romans 12:2, ceb), and that we should think about things that are good and praiseworthy (see Philippians 4:8).

The Christian life is supernatural but not enchanted. God doesn’t magically make us happy despite the fact that we make work, sports, leisure, or sex into our idols. If we choose to seek happiness elsewhere, God won’t force himself on us. And He certainly won’t give us happiness in what distances us from Him.

Happiness comes naturally in the same sense that fruit comes naturally from a tree. If the tree gets sufficient sunshine and water, if the ground is rich in nutrients, if the tree doesn’t contract diseases, then yes, it “naturally” produces fruit. We must plant ourselves in the rich soil of God’s Word, soak in the living water of God and His people, and bask in the radiant sunlight of His grace. We must take the steps to help and serve others, loving not only God but also our neighbors. Only then, as we change our minds and actions, will newfound happiness come “naturally.”

So, adapt to what you cannot control, control and influence what you can, and leave the rest to Him. And remember—when you do, it will be in infinitely bigger, better, stronger hands than yours.

For more, see Randy's book Help for Women Under Stress.

Photo: Unsplash

How Anticipation for Heaven Changes Our Lives Now

In this video from my class Eternity 101, I talk about how anticipating Heaven motivates us to live life differently now:

Below is an expanded transcript of what I share in the video:

Charles Spurgeon wrote in his classic devotional Morning and Evening, “Christian, meditate much on Heaven, it will help thee to press on, and to forget the toil of the way. This vale of tears is but the pathway to the better country: this world of woe is but the steppingstone to a world of bliss. And, after death, what cometh? What wonder-world will open upon our astonished sight?”

This is what we need to do. In the spirit of C. S. Lewis and Charles Spurgeon, we should anticipate the world to come. And if we are delighted by that anticipation—because we know the God who lives there; we know the Carpenter from Nazareth, who’s gone to prepare a place for us—it will radically change us and get hold of us. We will not view death the same. Not our death, or the death of a loved one.

It doesn’t mean we’ll look forward to death because death involves some level of suffering. And it doesn’t mean we’ll be glad that our loved one is gone, of course. But it does fundamentally change the game…big time!

In this excerpt from my novel Deception, Detective Ollie Chandler looks to his friends, Jake Woods and Clarence Abernathy, for a reason to anticipate Heaven:

“Why would anyone want to go to heaven? When my grandmother spoke about heaven, it was the last place I wanted to go. Who wants to be a ghost anyway? My idea of utopia was a place like earth, where you could have fun and ride bikes and play baseball and go deep into the forest and dive into lakes and eat good food.”

“Sounds to me like the New Earth,” Clarence chimed in from the backseat.

“Exactly,” Jake said. “The Bible says the heaven we’ll live in forever will be a New Earth, this same earth made new, without the bad stuff. God doesn’t give up on His original creation. He redeems it. And we’ll have these same bodies made better. The Bible teaches the exact opposite of what you’re saying—we won’t be ghosts. We’ll eat and drink and be active on a redeemed earth.”

“So you’ll still be Jake Woods?” I asked.

“Yeah—without the bad parts. We’ll be able to enjoy creation’s beauty and rule the world the way God intended us to. Baseball and riding bikes? Why not?”

 “Wish I could believe that.”

“What’s stopping you?” Jake asked.

God evicted the devil from Heaven; now our enemy wants Heaven to sound boring to us, because that implies God is boring. He doesn't want us to be so excited about Heaven and the New Earth that we would want to share the Gospel with people so they too would anticipate living forever with God and His people.

And I also think our anticipation calls us to live at a greater level of purity, a greater level of service in this world. In 2 Peter 3, we’re told about the new heavens and the New Earth, in which righteousness dwells. Then Peter wrote, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.” He proceeded all that with verse 11, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the new heavens and the New Earth.”

Peter links the promise of life together in the new universe with the call to be holy and pure and to live for Christ. God wants us to use this time He’s given us to serve Him with all our hearts. I pray that’s what God’s people would do.

From Eternal Perspective Ministries: Right now you can purchase Randy Alcorn’s Heaven for Kids on sale from our ministry for $7 (50% off $13.99 retail)! Plus get free media mail shipping on orders over $30 with code 23THANKS. 

"I and a fellow teacher have found Heaven for Kids uses a question and answer format that is not just for kids. I and several adult friends of mine have read this book and find it very enlightening and informative. It truly makesyou look forward to the better place God has prepared for His believers—especially in light of all the turmoil and disturbing issues of the world today." —Reader Review

Sale ends Monday, November 20 at noon PT. Free shipping offer ends Friday, December 8. Available for U.S. continental orders only.

Photo: Pexels

Two Wonderful Opportunities to Give to the Needy in the Philippines This Christmas

My friend Doug Nichols is the founder of Action International Ministries, a wonderful missions organization, and he now travels and serves as a global missions advocate, serving internationally with Commission To Every Nation (CTEN).

Doug shared with me about two Christmas missions projects, and though I rarely highlight specific giving opportunities on our website, I’m making an exception for these. I am struck at how inexpensively many people can be helped:

1. Christmas Ministry to Needy Children in the Philippines.

There are up to two million street children in the Philippines, with 200,000 in Metro Manila alone. Many more extremely poor children are in unreached depressed villages and areas throughout the country.

Our Lord said, “Allow the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them…” (Matt. 19:14).

During the November/December Christmas season in the Philippines, small churches and ministries in poor areas seek to have some type of Christmas Gospel outreach to these neglected and needy children.

Street and poor children see other children attending parties, eating, and receiving gifts, yet they have nothing.

Several of our ministry partners and churches are planning “Children’s Christmas Outreaches” for these most needy children with games, a large meal, and especially the gospel; however, they have little or no funds to do so especially as they have little or no funds for their own families. 

We can help our ministry friends with the small expense with a budget of only $4 per child. This small amount will provide a special Christmas event for these children with a large healthy meal, the gospel and perhaps a small gift!

This year, with so many hungry and needy in the Philippines amongst the poor, we have a burden to help these Christmas Outreaches to reach up to 3,000 needy children!

This is a huge undertaking, and we ask for your prayer and participation!

For example, the budget to serve 50 needy children at a special Children’s Christmas Outreach with a meal and the gospel would be $200, which is only $4 per child.

Perhaps you, your family, or your church would consider sponsoring one of these Christmas Gospel outreaches for 50 children with $200, or 500 children with $2,000.

2. Pastors’ Timothy Study Commentary Seminars ($10 per pastor).

By God’s grace, we have received 1,000 free copies for pastors in the Philippines of the excellent $24 “Study Commentary of 1 & 2 Timothy” by Dr. William Barcley, Senior Pastor at Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, and Adjunct Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Our 12 main ministry partners will conduct “Timothy Book” Seminars for 1,000 pastors throughout the country.

For example, in a seminar for 20 pastors, they will spend a day with a pastoral leader going through this practical commentary to help them with their shepherding and especially in preaching and teaching of the Word.

The seminar will begin with an early breakfast, then several lecture/study sessions in the Timothy commentary, a full healthy meal at noon, then more study time and closing with a light snack.

There is no charge for the seminar and book (valued at $24) for these pastors, most of whom are very poor and have no training. Just the expense of travel to the seminar will be a great financial burden for them. 

Our cost is $10 per pastor which covers all expenses. The total seminar expense for 20 pastors is $200, 30 pastors is $300, for 1,000 pastors our total need is $10,000.

Also: Shipping of Timothy Study Commentaries ($54 ships a 100 lb. box of 96 Commentaries).

Our ministry team in Seattle is packing these donated copies of the “Study Commentary of 1 & 2 Timothy” to ship to the Philippines.

As 96 copies of the commentary are packed in each large 100-lb. box, we will be shipping 12 boxes at $54 each box, for a total need of $648.

I’d love to suggest that you consider giving an extra $200 this Christmas to go to one of these causes, or $400 to go to both. That is a very small amount of money, considering how much many of us tend to spend on gifts and activities this time of year. Imagine—just $4 to share the gospel and God’s love with a child! And only $10 to serve a pastor in need of support and training. One ministry partner wrote Doug about the 2022 outreach to needy children: “[At] last year’s event, in two places alone, more than two hundred children accepted Christ and many of them continue in the Lord.”

Giving to help children (and our brothers and sisters in Christ) recognizes their value to Jesus and their special need for care and protection. He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Consider sharing this with friends or your small group and encourage them to get in on this opportunity. Let’s invest this Christmas in the lives of the needy, knowing there is no better way than giving to honor Jesus, the one who gave Himself for us: “Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

For ease of giving, through the end of November, you can donate to these outreach projects by giving directly through EPM, and 100% of all donations will be passed on and split between these two worthy causes. Select “Missions Fund” on our donation page. If you’d prefer to send a check, you can make it payable to Eternal Perspective Ministries and send to: 39065 Pioneer Blvd, Suite 100, Sandy, OR 97055. Be sure to write “Philippines” in the notation area.

The Divine Paradox of God’s Sovereignty and Meaningful Human Choice

I once spoke to eighty college students about a sensitive theological question: “Can true Christians lose their salvation?” First, I asked them to commit themselves to a yes or no answer. I separated them, according to their answers, on opposite sides of the room, breaking them up into small groups.

Next I gave everyone a handout featuring twenty passages of Scripture. After reading these aloud, the students were to discuss in their groups and decide: “If these were the only Scripture passages I had, would I answer the question yes or no?”

Tensions rose. On both sides of the room, students looked confused, and some were angry.

Only afterward did I explain that I’d given each group different handouts consisting of entirely different passages. The Scriptures each group was given appeared to teach an answer exactly opposite to the position they’d said they believed.

My main take-away was that we need to establish our positions in light of all Scripture, not just our preferred passages that support what we wish to believe.

The issue of whether Christians can lose their salvation is one that involves matters of God’s sovereignty and human choice. The question typically gets one answer from those called Arminians (“yes”) and the opposite answer from those called Calvinists (“no”). John Wesley is seen as the classic Arminian, while John Calvin (surprise!) is the classic Calvinist; but, trust me, neither Calvin nor Wesley were idiots (which I wanted to help those eighty college students understand).

These jokes are light-hearted illustrations of the two views:

How many Calvinists does it take to change a light bulb?

None. Only God can change a light bulb. Since He has ordained the darkness and predestined when the lights will come on, stay seated and trust Him.

How many Arminians does it take to change a light bulb?

Only one. But first the bulb must want to be changed.

How do you confuse a Calvinist?

Take him to a buffet and tell him he can choose whatever he wants.

Calvinists have their TULIP; what flower do Arminians prefer?

The daisy. Why? “He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not…”

(TULIP is an acronym representing Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. These “five points of Calvinism” were stated at the Synod of Dort in the early 1600s in response to five assertions of the Arminian “Remonstrants.”)

In terms of belief in the Bible and love for Christ, Calvinists and Arminians have a lot in common. Most Calvinists live daily as Arminians do—freely making choices for which they take personal responsibility. Most Arminians pray like Calvinists—believing a sovereign God can and does change people’s hearts, swaying their wills.

Better questions than “Are you a Calvinist or an Arminian?” are “What does the Bible actually teach?” And “Do you believe it?” Let’s trust all of God’s words, not just the ones that fit neatly into a preferred theological system or church tradition.

We can agree that God is sovereign and all-powerful without agreeing about how He chooses to exercise His power.

God is “the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!” (Psalm 24:8, ESV). The rhetorical question “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” implies the answer no (Genesis 18:14; compare Jeremiah 32:27). Gabriel said to Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Jesus said, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

God is the “Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 1:8). He is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV). John the Baptist said, “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matthew 3:9, ESV).

God’s sovereignty is real, but not every statement people make about it is true. Scripture emphasizes God’s sovereignty, yet it fully recognizes the role of evil people as well as Satan and demons.

Scripture makes clear that Satan and demons in fact have a powerful influence on the course of events in this world (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 4:1; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9). An emphasis on God’s sovereignty should not undermine or negate horrible evils.

In a sovereignty-only perspective, human choice can become buried so deep that it’s nominal, essentially an illusion. “Since God is sovereign, it really doesn’t matter how we live. Even if I choose sin, it will be according to God’s plan. Why should I work hard at my job, my marriage, or my parenting when my effort doesn’t matter and it’s all in God’s hands?” Yet Scripture is full of verses that contradict such a conclusion. When Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “Choose life in order that you may live” (NASB), surely he wasn’t saying, “God has predetermined all your choices, so although you imagine you’re choosing, it’s really God making you choose rightly or wrongly.”

When Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15, ESV), didn’t he mean they really could choose, and that whether they chose either idols or God, it was genuinely their choice? We should of course call upon God to empower us to make right choices. But that’s not the same as calling on God to make our decisions for us.

What about the many passages of Scripture that show the tragic results of sin? When Achan’s sin resulted in the death of his family (see Joshua 7:10–26) and when Herod killed children in an attempt to murder Christ (see Matthew 2:16–18)—were these not real choices which God permitted and used, but which He did not determine in the sense of causing anyone to sin?

No Calvinist pastor says to his congregation, “Your choices don’t matter, since God has sovereignly predetermined everything, including your sins and your Arminian theology!”

No, he admonishes his people to repent and avoid sin, and to change their theology by choosing to believe something different. Doesn’t every sermon call on people to make good choices? And aren’t most of those choices ones that can actually be made?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). God has given all of us the capacity to make right choices; doesn’t the fact that we often make wrong ones suggest that we, as well as God, are involved in determining our life direction?

Biblically, God’s sovereignty is affirmed emphatically, yet it doesn’t swallow up our ability to choose or our responsibility for the choices we make.

God’s sovereignty and our meaningful choices are the parallel tracks that allow the train of our faith to move smoothly in the right direction.

Excerpted from Randy's book  hand in Hand: The Beauty of God’s Sovereignty and Meaningful Human Choice .

Photo: Unsplash

9 Lessons God Teaches Us Through Sickness

During her four-year battle with cancer, my precious wife and soulmate, Nanci, immersed herself daily in God’s Word, read great books about His attributes, and wrote to Him in her journal. Together we turned to Jesus in prayer and worship as we drew close to God and each other and faced her death side by side. Nanci’s physical decline was heartbreaking, but her spiritual growth was stunning and profound.

Recently I read “9 Lessons from God Concerning Sickness” from J. C. Ryle, an Anglican bishop (1816–1900). Every lesson he shares applies to how Nanci lived out her last years before relocating to Heaven. In fact, I was surprised I’d never read this before. Nanci would’ve loved it, and she probably loves it now more than ever. Praise God for J. C. Ryle!

He wrote:

Affliction is a friendly letter from Heaven. It is a knock at the door of conscience. It is the voice of the Savior knocking at the heart’s door. Happy is he who opens the letter and reads it, who hears the knock and opens the door, who welcomes Christ to the sick room. Come now, and let me show you a few of the lessons which He by sickness would teach us.

1. To make us think, to remind us that we have a soul as well as a body—an immortal soul, a soul that will live forever in happiness or in misery—and that if this soul is not saved we had better never have been born.

2. To teach us that there is a world beyond the grave, and that the world we now live in is only a training place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.

3. To make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ’s blood? Am I prepared to meet God?

4. To make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.

5. To send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.

6. To make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.

7. To make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us “hear the rod.”

8. To draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men’s eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, “Simply to Your cross I cling,” as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many—they have found Christ in the sick room.

9. To make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master’s example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves—and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.

Summary: Beware of fretting, murmuring, complaining, and giving way to an impatient spirit. Regard your sickness as a blessing in disguise—a good and not an evil—a friend and not an enemy. No doubt we should all prefer to learn spiritual lessons in the school of ease and not under the rod. But rest assured that God knows better than we do how to teach us. The light of the last day will show you that there was a meaning and a “need be” in all your bodily ailments. The lessons that we learn on a sick-bed, when we are shut out from the world, are often lessons which we should never learn elsewhere.

Source: The J.C. Ryle Archive

I saw each of these points play out in Nanci’s life. She had always been a godly woman who loved Jesus, and no one knew that better than I did. But God’s supernatural work in her life as she faced death was breathtaking. Her relationship with Jesus reached new depths, and I had the privilege of witnessing and benefiting from her eternal perspective, a perspective we had each sought to cultivate and live by.

Yes, sometimes Nanci felt anxious, but she instructed herself by God’s Words, and the anxiety was replaced by peace and hope and rest in the great God she knew to be her Father, and the Jesus she knew not only as Savior and Lord, but friend. After reflecting on Psalm 119, which says in verse 93, “all things are your servants,” she wrote:

My cancer is God’s servant in my life. He is using it in ways He has revealed to me in these verses and in many more I have yet to understand. I can rest knowing that my cancer is under the control of a sovereign God who IS good and DOES good.

I never saw a hint of resentment in Nanci. The question was never Why Me, Lord? She had no sense of entitlement. God was God. Her job wasn’t to question Him, but to honor Him and embrace His plans and purposes. She was determined not to waste her life, including her cancer.

And because of that, Nanci finished well. She flourished in her time of sickness, and she leaned into the finish line. May we follow her example in our own times of suffering.

(See “My Cancer Is God’s Servant”: Reflections by Nanci Alcorn, Why the Year After Her Cancer Diagnosis Was the Best Year of Nanci’s Life, and Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Four Years.)

Photo: Unsplash

What Is God’s Common Grace?

Common grace is one of my very favorite doctrines. I so love it and wish it were better understood and more often celebrated.

“Common grace” points out that God loves the whole world, and exercises patience and kindness even to those who ultimately reject Him. In his excellent book Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem says, “Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation. The word common here means something that is common to all people and is not restricted to believers or to the elect only.”

This magnificent and beautiful doctrine flows right off the pages of Scripture and is repeatedly confirmed by daily observation. It is demonstrated in Christ’s words, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45). 

We Ask the Wrong Question

Common grace emphasizes the goodness of God. It exactly reverses the standard logic most people use. For example, Rabbi Kushner asked, “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?” and concluded in his bestselling book that God is either not all-good or not all-powerful. He bailed God out (so he thought), rescuing Him from not being good by concluding God is not all-powerful.

Understanding neither God’s holiness nor the reality and extent of our sin, we fail to realize that the question of why bad things happen to good people is exactly backwards. It’s the wrong question. The real question (which angels likely ask, having seen their angelic brethren permanently evicted from Heaven for their rebellion) is “Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People?” If we understood who God is and how we are, that is exactly the question we would ask.

This is the wonder and awesomeness of the doctrine of common grace. God graciously and kindly brings good to people who deserve the fires of Hell not simply eventually, but right now. It is characteristic of bad people to not think of themselves as being bad. We imagine we are good (not perfect, but good enough), so we fail to marvel at God’s common grace. When a tsunami happens, we ask, “Where is a good God?” But when a tsunami doesn’t happen, we usually fail to thank Him for restraining from us the devastations of a world in rebellion against God. And certainly we never say, “Where is a just God? Why hasn’t He struck me down for my sin today?” Instead, we moan that we can’t find a close parking space on a rainy day.

Jesus appeals to God’s common grace as a basis for our extending grace to others, even those who hate us (Luke 6:35-36). If not for God’s common grace—if God brought immediate terrible judgment on unbelievers—the world as we know it wouldn’t exist. Among other things, no one would have an opportunity to come to Christ, since we would be immediately cast into Hell.

He Is Good to All

Paul said to unbelievers, “In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16-17). I find this a very touching statement of God’s grace toward all, and an appeal for all people to realize His love, even in a world under the curse. Satan is taking his toll on this world in bondage to sin, but even though none of us deserve His grace, God extends it to us. This world gives foretastes of both Heaven and Hell. Tragically, it is the closest to Heaven the unbeliever will ever know, and wonderfully, it is the closest to Hell the child of God will ever know.

David says, “The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. . . . The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, you satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:9, 15-16). God cares for His creation and extends His grace to all—not only people but animals, though they suffer under the Curse and will until Christ’s return.

Another thing I appreciate about common grace is its irony. God gives atheists not only food to eat and air to breathe, but also the very minds and wills and logic that they use to argue against Him. The man who says God cannot be good since He allows suffering doesn’t grasp that God is withholding from him the full extent of suffering he deserves for his evil, and that is the very thing that gives the man the luxury of formulating and leveling his accusations against God.

Let’s Praise God for the Breadth of His Grace

Common grace, along with the fact that we are created in God’s image, also explains how sinners can still do good. Jesus says, “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:33). This means human culture has developed much that is good alongside the evil.

I love John 1:9, which says that Jesus came as the light that “enlightens every man.” I think this reflects that fact that all people in history have benefited from the coming of Christ, even those who reject Him. The model of Christ, His grace and truth, His elevation of women and conciliatory words, created a reference point for bringing freedom and civil rights to many societies. As far as we still have to go, the progress in affirming the rights of women and racial minorities in our own culture is due not to the current beliefs of moral relativism, but to the teaching and model of Christ which sowed the seeds for later reversal of the injustice (including slavery, women unable to vote, etc.) that still hung over this country when it was founded.

To me common grace is a wonderful doctrine, true to Scripture and true to the world we see around us. If someone prefers to call it something different, that’s fine (though I like the term), but whatever we call it, it’s biblical and significant, and it causes me to praise God for the breadth of His grace.

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Will We Know Everything in Heaven or Will We Learn?

People often say, “We don’t understand now, but in Heaven we’ll know everything.”

Is this true? Definitely not.

God alone is omniscient. When we die, we’ll see things far more clearly, and we’ll know much more than we do now, but we’ll never know everything. (If we did, we’d be God!)

The apostle Paul writes, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

To “know fully” doesn’t mean that we’ll be omniscient but that we will know without error and misconception. We’ll “get it.” We’ll see God’s face and therefore truly know him. But he will remain infinite and we will remain finite. We will know accurately, but not comprehensively.

In Heaven we’ll be flawless, but not knowing everything isn’t a flaw. It’s just part of being finite. Angels don’t know everything, and they long to know more (1 Peter 1:12). They’re flawless, but finite. We should expect to long for greater knowledge, as angels do. And we’ll spend eternity gaining the greater knowledge we seek.

One poll indicated that less than one in five people believe we will grow intellectually once we’re in Heaven. I heard a pastor say on the radio, “There will be no more learning in Heaven.” One writer says that in Heaven, “Activities such as investigation, comprehending, and probing will never be necessary. Our understanding will be complete.”

But that’s not what Scripture says.

Paul, in Ephesians 2:6-7, writes, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace.” The word translated show means “to reveal.” The phrase in the coming ages clearly indicates that this will be a progressive, ongoing revelation, in which we learn more and more about God’s grace.

I often learn new things about my daughters, grandsons, and closest friends, even though I’ve known them for many years. If I can always be learning something new about finite, limited human beings, how much more will I be learning about Jesus in the ages to come? None of us will ever begin to exhaust His depths.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Learn from me” (Matthew 11:29). On the New Earth we’ll have the privilege of sitting at Jesus’ feet as Mary did, walking with Him over the countryside as His disciples did, and always learning from Him. In Heaven, we’ll continually learn new things about God, going ever deeper in our understanding.

Occasionally we hear stories that provide a small taste of what we’ll learn in eternity. One morning when I was speaking at a church, a young woman came up to me and said, “Do you remember a young man headed to college sitting next to you on a plane? You gave him your novel Deadline.”

I give away a lot of my books on planes, but after some prompting, I remembered him. He was an unbeliever. We talked about Jesus, and I gave him the book and prayed for him as we got off the plane.

I was amazed when the young woman said, “He told me he never contacted you, so you wouldn’t know what happened. He got to college, checked into the dorm, sat down, and read your book. When he was done, he confessed his sins and gave his life to Jesus. And I can honestly tell you, he’s the most dynamic Christian I’ve ever met.”

All I did was talk to a college student on an airplane, give him a book, and pray for him. But if the young woman hadn’t told me what happened later, I wouldn’t have had a clue. This made me think about how many great stories await us in Heaven, and how many we may not hear until we’ve been there a long time. We won’t ever know everything, and even what we know, we won’t know all at once. We’ll be learners forever. Few things excite me more than that.

Jonathan Edwards maintained that we will continually become happier in Heaven in “a never-ending, ever-increasing discovery of more and more of God’s glory with greater and greater joy in him.” He said there will never be a time when there is “no more glory for the redeemed to discover and enjoy.”

When we enter Heaven, we’ll presumably begin with the knowledge we had at the time of death. God may enhance our knowledge and will correct countless wrong perceptions. I imagine He’ll reveal many new things to us and then set us on a course of continual learning like that of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Perhaps angels or loved ones already in Heaven will be assigned to tutor us.

Think of what it will be like to discuss science with Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and Thomas Edison, or to discuss mathematics with Blaise Pascal. Imagine long talks with Malcolm Muggeridge or Francis Schaeffer. Think about discussing the writings of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, G. K. Chesterton, or Dorothy Sayers with the authors themselves. How would you like to talk about the power of fiction at a roundtable with John Milton, Daniel Defoe, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Flannery O’Connor?

Imagine discussing the sermons of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, or Charles Spurgeon with the preachers themselves. Or talking about faith with George Mueller or Bill Bright and hearing their stories firsthand. You might cover the Civil War era with Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Or the history of missions with William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, or Hudson and Maria Taylor.

Consider how exciting intellectual development will be. Father Boudreau writes in The Happiness of Heaven, “The life of Heaven is one of intellectual pleasure. . . . There the intellect of man receives a supernatural light. . . . It is purified, strengthened, enlarged, and enabled to see God as He is in His very essence. It is enabled to contemplate, face to face, Him who is the first essential Truth. Who can fathom the exquisite pleasures of the human intellect when it thus sees all truth as it is in itself!”

Imagine what Heaven will be like for those who never had the benefits of literacy and education. What joy they will have in drawing truths ever deeper and ever more from their God, the Well who will never run dry.

Browse more resources on the topic of Heaven, and see Randy’s related books, including Heaven and The Promise of the New Earth.

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Few Things Are More Dangerous Than the Quest for Cultural Acceptance

Note from Randy: Something is seriously wrong when Christians crave cultural popularity and acceptance. That’s why I greatly appreciated the points made in this article by Brett McCracken, a senior editor and director of communications at The Gospel Coalition. May it remind us that God is the one we should seek to please and glorify. So by all means, let’s be motivated by seeking approval—not the acceptance of men or the approval of our culture—but the approval of God.

Beware the Corrosive Quest for Respectability

By Brett McCracken

Few things are worse for the individual Christian’s soul—and the broader Christian witness—than the quest for cultural acceptance. To consciously pursue credibility among the “cool” and applause from the cosmopolitan elite is, almost always, a step in the direction of theological compromise and spiritual atrophy.

I’ve written about this several times over the last 15 years, but it’s a problem that keeps popping up. Why? Because our fallen flesh is stubbornly drawn to the idol of respectability.

Whatever culture a Christ follower happens to be in, the temptation is to be an insider rather than an outsider, acknowledged rather than dismissed, respected rather than ridiculed, a high-status power player rather than a powerless pawn.

Where This Plays Out

In contemporary Western culture, the temptation is especially pronounced in industries where the label “evangelical Christian” has long been maligned and associated with all manner of stigma (words like “ghetto,” “cheap,” “sentimentalized,” “subculture,” “bigoted,” “backward,” “outdated,” “anti-intellectual,” and so forth). I’ve observed it and I’ve experienced it myself, in these three spheres.

Arts

The arts, culture, and entertainment world is notoriously skeptical of evangelical artists, who have a reputation for poor quality and preachiness and tend to be low-status outsiders. Plus, this world is highly secular and morally transgressive; it tends to find Christian morality repugnant. As a result, Christians seeking success in this sphere have an uphill battle and are tempted to hide, downplay, or disown aspects of their faith that might prove obstacles to respectability.

Academia

I attended Wheaton College, an unofficial tagline of which is “The Harvard of Christian Schools.” That identifier is mostly an inside joke among students and alumni, in part because it speaks to an awkward aspirational reality. Christian colleges like Wheaton do seek to shed the reputation of the scandalously bad evangelical mind; they want to be seen as more like Harvard and less like a backwater “Bible college.”

Practical pressures play into this too: mainstream accreditation, NCAA requirements, fierce competition for a dwindling pool of applicants, and professors seeking research grants and peer approval in their respective disciplines. It often leads to institutional embarrassment about or disassociation from the culturally reviled tenets of Christian orthodoxy, which then sets the stage for institutional mission drift.

Media

In the contemporary media landscape (including print, broadcast, web, and social media), fortune favors the biased, not the objective. The more you appeal to in-group talking points and always affirm (but never challenge) your audience’s particular bent, the more you’ll be rewarded with clicks, ratings, subscriptions, and high page rank. No one gains a boatload of social media followers by being nuanced and multidirectional in his or her criticism. No pundit becomes a star by consistently defying partisan categories.

Rather, profits and platform follow fan service: telling your audience what they want to hear. This is a form of respectability-seeking that plagues many of us in today’s social media. The dopamine hit from viral affirmation is often irresistible. Yet gaining an audience in today’s media environment often comes at the cost of integrity.

‘Not One of Those Evangelicals’

One of the telltale signs you’re a Christian with an unhealthy hunger for respectability is that you constantly bash those other Christians as a way to boost your credibility.

This is the Christian artist who describes her aesthetic vision as “very anti–Thomas Kinkade” or the Christian filmmaker who prefaces a pitch by underscoring how aware he is of the egregious quality of the “faith-based” genre.

This is the Christian college professor at a secular academic conference who feels she must apologize for and disown the “crazy Trump evangelicals” who give her school a bad name.

It’s the Christian podcaster, pundit, or TikTok influencer who spends less time talking about the beauty of Jesus than about the ugliness of so many of his followers—as if every potshot at the worst elements of our faith somehow makes our expression of Christianity palatable and respectable.

This approach is spiritually corrosive and will breed division within the church, seeding resentment in your heart for your fellow Christians. It’s also a futile strategy.

Whatever credibility your constant digs at “those other Christians” earns you in the eyes of cultural elites, it’ll all be lost the minute they find out you actually believe what the Bible says about sexuality or the exclusivity of Christ (among other things). That’s perhaps the greatest reason efforts at “respectability” are a fool’s errand. Even if you say and do all the right things, if you believe a few wrong things, respectability will be elusive and elite access will be denied.

How to Resist the Temptation of Respectability

How can Christians resist the temptation to pursue respectability? Here are four suggestions.

1. Strive for excellence, not respectability.

Christians need to recognize the important distinction between excellence and respectability. Excellence is within our control. Respectability isn’t. In whatever vocational sphere or cultural context we’re in, we should seek excellence—for God’s glory, not man’s approval.

Christians should be better artists because excellent art glorifies God. We should be top-notch scholars and scientists because excellent scholarship and science glorify God. If such excellence results in accolades and a rise in cultural status, that’s fine. But it should be a byproduct, not an incentive.

Make no mistake: cultural approval always ebbs and flows. If you’re in favor one day, you’ll be out the next. Christians in every industry must come to terms with this and pursue excellence anyway. Christians laboring in anonymity for decades, frustrated that their perseverance hasn’t resulted in the respect they think they deserve, should strive for excellence nonetheless.

Respectability is an unsustainable carrot for those exhausted by the grueling rigors and requirements of excellence. God’s glory, on the other hand, is a motivation that can fuel us through the ups and downs of work and life.

2. Pursue truth, not talking points.

College and university campuses used to be the most trustworthy bastions of truth telling in the world. That’s no longer the case, in part because the pursuit of truth among academics has become a lesser priority than the pursuit of tenure and scholarly respectability.

On many campuses, knowledge of speech codes (what’s OK to say and what’s not) has replaced free thinking and open debate, resulting in a culture where discourse and research have become more about signaling in-group bona fides than blazing trails in pursuit of truth.

Christians must resist this temptation to value saying the “right” things over the true things. The former might lead to lucrative opportunities and elite invitations, but the latter is your calling.

For Christians in politics especially, the pragmatism of seeking in-group credibility (saying what I need to say to gain status in the halls of power or among these voters) is prevalent, tragic, and toxic. Whatever is gained in respectability and status by always toeing the party line, much more is lost when Christians in politics refuse to speak biblical truth that’s inconvenient or costly.

3. Be disrespected for the right reasons.

None of the above is an excuse for Christians to be rude or combative. Nor is it an excuse for Christians to mischaracterize the arguments of opposing views or engage in any of the other bad-faith rhetorical tactics so pervasive in online discourse. We should still speak respectfully even if we’re not aiming for respectability.

Sadly, many Christians are disrespected in today’s world not because we’re faithful Jesus followers but because we’re jerks. It’s one thing to peacefully accept that cultural respectability will be elusive for us. It’s another to go out of our way to provoke nonbelievers and give them more reasons to disrespect us. We may be cultural exiles, but we should still live honorably among the pagans—not because we want to get invited to pagan parties but because God’s Word commands us (1 Pet. 2:12).

4. Cultivate love for fellow Christians.

Almost every quest for respectability requires a virtue-signaling disassociation from those other, cringeworthy Christians (whichever types of Christians mar our reputation). To fight this tendency, we need to actively cultivate love in our hearts for our brethren in Christ—especially the ones we resent because they “give us a bad name.”

This is hard. I struggle with this. And judging by the constant, venomous infighting among Christians on social media, most other believers struggle with it too. But Christians need to train our hearts to love what Christ loves. And he loves his people. If Jesus isn’t ashamed of his blood-bought people (Heb. 2:11–12), should we be ashamed of them? If Jesus isn’t embarrassed to own them “in the midst of the congregation,” should we be?

When Jesus tells his disciples to not be surprised by the world’s hatred (John 15:18–19), it’s interesting that what immediately precedes this is his command for them to “love one another” (vv. 12, 17). Jesus knows that love and unity among Christians shore up resilient faith in the face of cultural disrespect.

Better than Respectability

You might protest: Without respectability, how will Christians ever rise in the ranks of important cultural spheres? Don’t we need Christians to achieve influence at the highest levels of government, art, and media? And if that ascent requires some short-term compromises, isn’t the long-term gain worth it?

No. The end goal for every Christian—in every place and time and vocational situation—is to glorify God, to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18), and to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1).

When we walk in this manner, it may mean our influence in the worldly sense is limited. But what influence we do have will be more potent, flavored as it is with the transcendent aroma of Christ rather than with the fleeting perfumes of this world.

We’ll incur many losses as we live in this faithful way, with our integrity intact: loss of power, respectability, influence, fame, and fortune, to name a few. But as Paul reminds us, anything lost is mere “rubbish” compared to the immeasurable gain of knowing Christ and being found in him (Phil. 3:8–9).

Worldly respectability is a fragile, fickle, fleeting thing. It’s rubbish. Our Savior’s love is steadfast and everlasting. An infinitely better reward.

This article was originally posted on The Gospel Coalition , and is used with the author’s permission.

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The Dedication of the Nanci Alcorn Memorial Library

It was six years ago, but I remember like yesterday when Nanci and I traveled to Jamaica, where I spoke at a donors’ conference to help raise funds for Operation Mobilization’s ship Logos Hope. We were very familiar with it from a distance, partly because of a close relationship with OM founder George Verwer. I asked if it would be possible for Nanci and me to stay on board the ship after the conference. It turned out that it was one of the best experiences of our lives.

I wrote a blog shortly after we returned home. Here are 27 seconds of that trip, when crew-member Audrey was telling us a story, and you can hear Nanci’s voice right next to me saying “Oh my goodness” three times and an emphatic “Yes.” Her voice says it all.

It was only natural that after Nanci went to be with Jesus, we set up a memorial fund where 100% of the donations will be dispersed to ministries Nanci cared deeply about, and Logos Hope would be one of those. So when people have given in honor of Nanci, Logos Hope has been touched by Nanci and part of her legacy too.

Last year, OM told me they wanted to honor her influence on the ministry by renaming the library on board Logos Hope, “The Nanci Alcorn Memorial Library.” Seelan Govender, the CEO and President of OM Ships International, wrote:

We are so grateful for Nanci’s example of a godly life well-lived. To celebrate and commemorate her legacy with the Ship Ministry and her love of reading and literature, today we honor her influence on our ministry by renaming the library on board Logos Hope, “The Nanci Alcorn Memorial Library.”

It is our desire that future guests and crewmembers will use this space as a place of growth and prayer as they strengthen and sustain their daily walk with our precious Heavenly Father. Both are things that Nanci modeled extraordinarily well for us with her own life.

I’m so thankful for the memories I have of countless trips with Nanci now that flying across the world as an insulin-dependent diabetic has become more difficult. As hard as it was to say no to visiting the ship for the dedication this October, it prompted me to ask our daughters Karina and Angela if they wanted to make the trip to Tanzania. I am so happy that they were able to witness firsthand their mom being honored by one of the favorite ministries she ever saw (and she saw many over our years together)!

Karina and Angela are two of the godliest women I know. They are wonderful wives and wonderful moms. Both are Christ-centered and biblically grounded and have servants’ hearts and compassion for people. I respect them both deeply. They are full of insight and wisdom, and they love God and people. Nanci is more alive and aware than ever, and has certainly not lost her love and interest in and respect for her daughters—hence, I will not say she loved them and was proud of them. I will say she loves them and is proud of them.  And so am I.

I believe Nanci is aware of the dedication, and was as excited for our daughters’ trip as I was. I can just see that smile on her face and hear her delighted laughter! ♥️ How deeply grateful I am to King Jesus for His everlasting love and friendship.

Here is the video of the dedication.

Karina and Angela wrote about their time on the ship, and I believe their words are honoring to the Lord and to their mom. Karina wrote:

It was fantastic getting to worship and live alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the world. We were able to tour the ship and see the school, the galley, the engine room, and experience all the different teams that come together to make life on the ship possible. I enjoyed meeting professionals who are bringing their skills to life on board, as well as young volunteers who are learning on the job. 

We were able to join in the community prayer meeting, participate in a women’s conference on board for local Tanzanian women, and check out the book fair, which was full of elementary school students at the time we were there. There’s a huge variety of books available, and it was interesting seeing behind the scenes where those books are organized and stored. So much thought and care goes into this ministry! A huge team of people—including administrators, maritime professionals, food service professionals, travel coordinators, volunteers, and young people from all over the world—make up this traveling community, which brings the gospel and resources for Christian growth to port communities around the globe.

Crewmembers are assigned a work detail and schedule, which includes outreach into the local community each week. The advance team goes ahead and prepares connections, but of course, a lot of flexibility is required as well.

I’m so thankful we were able to be here to celebrate the dedication of the library in mom’s honor and experience life aboard ship. We had so many fascinating conversations and were able to meet a wide variety of people from many nations. It does make me feel a little ashamed I only speak English! We met several people who speak three, four, or more languages! 

What a great reminder that we serve a God who is worshiped all around the world, and who is accomplishing His purposes in many languages, tribes, and tongues. Worshiping, praying, and sharing meals with our international brothers and sisters was a great privilege and blessing.

Angela wrote:

To be totally honest, before I left for this trip to Tanzania to honor my mom with the library dedication, my thoughts and emotions were all over the map (excuse the lame travel pun). I knew my mom would be the first one to tell Karina and I to have an absolute blast, so that helped, but I knew this was going to be a big deal. It was going to be an important step in this journey of grief I’ve been on for the past year and a half, and as much as I wanted to do it, I also really didn’t. I was anticipating big feelings, and even though I’ve resigned myself to carrying Kleenex with me wherever I go, I still hate to cry.

However, even though I had geared myself up for massive waves of emotion and the need to process through all my grief once again, God had other things in mind for this trip. As Karina and I walked around Logos Hope, meeting the crew of people representing 70+ different countries and hearing their stories, I began to realize just how self-focused I was. With each person I met, I was struck with the fact that although we looked different, spoke different languages, and live continents apart, everyone on board had a story like mine: full of ups and downs, with great joys and heartbreaking losses.

Logos Hope is a microcosm, full of people like you and me, stumbling through this broken world, but who have made the choice to take their eyes off themselves and put them on Jesus and on those who don’t yet know Him.

This trip wasn’t about me or my experience. This was about honoring my mom, and my mom's life was spent honoring people like the members of this crew, and most importantly honoring the Lord. The people on the ship—and for that matter, the ship itself—aren’t fancy or flashy, but neither was my mom. These are people who have ordinary lives, but are choosing, by the grace of God, to do something extraordinary with them. Like my mom did.

Over the course of just a few days on Logos Hope, I saw what I believe my mom saw and fell in love with: a foretaste of Heaven. A beautiful picture of “every tribe, tongue and nation.” And now she is there, a part of the great multitude that no one could number, worshiping before the throne of God. I can’t wait to join her there!

Note from Eternal Perspective Ministries: The Nanci Alcorn Memorial Fund

Those who would like to give a gift in honor of Nanci may give online (select the “Nanci Alcorn Memorial Fund”). If you wish to send a check, make it payable to Eternal Perspective Ministries and send to: 39065 Pioneer Blvd, Suite 100, Sandy, OR 97055. Be sure to write “Nanci” in the notation area. 100% of any donations will be divided among ministries that were dear to her heart: ministry in Cuba, persecuted Christians, and the Logos Hope Ship (Operation Mobilization).

He Who Is a Happy Creator Is a Happy Redeemer

If we are going to fully trust God, it’s vital that we believe in a happy God who cares deeply for our welfare and is active in creation and redemption.

In his sermon “A Free Salvation,” Charles Spurgeon said,

Let a man truly know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he will be a happy man! And the deeper he drinks into the spirit of Christ, the more happy will he become! That religion which teaches misery to be a duty is false upon the very face of it, for God, when He made the world, studied the happiness of His creatures. You cannot help thinking, as you see everything around you, that God has diligently, with the most strict attention, sought ways of pleasing man. He has not just given us our absolute necessities, He has given us more—not simply the useful, but even the ornamental! The flowers . . . the stars . . . the hill and the valley—all these things were intended not merely because we needed them, but because God would show us how He loved us and how anxious He was that we should be happy!

Now, it is not likely that the God who made a happy world would send a miserable salvation! He who is a happy Creator will be a happy Redeemer!

God spun the galaxies into being and spoke life into His creation. What joy we feel when we see His handiwork and realize that He made it not just to keep it to Himself but to share it with us. I can imagine Him laughing out loud as He formed some of this world’s crazy-looking creatures. (Some of them, in the deepest part of the oceans and perhaps in other worlds, haven’t even been discovered yet!)

God has kindly entrusted to us a glorious variety of gifts. And in the ages to come He won’t cease to be a Creator of what’s new and wonderful!

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy's books, including  Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

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