“A Gospel Primer” by Milton Vincent is such a wonderful book. It is divided into 4 parts.
- Part 1 Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily
- Part 2 A Gospel Narrative – Prose Version
- Part 3 A Gospel Narrative – Poetic Version
- Part 4 Surprised by the Gospel
The first part is made up of 31 reasons to think on the gospel. I have found it helpful to go through and number them each 1 to 31. So I can read one each day, according to the date. I would like to share today’s “reason” with you.
Thankfulness Enriched by Relief
The more absorbed I am in the gospel, the more grateful I become in the midst of my circumstances, whatever they may be.
Viewing life’s blessings as water in a drinking cup, I know that I could discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full. Certainly, the latter approach is the better of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this.
The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath. This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. If there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of every spiritual blessing in Christ, and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy. As for my specific earthly circumstances of plenty or want, I can see them always as infinite improvements on the hell I deserve.
When I look at any circumstances that God apportions me, I am first grateful for the wrath I am not receiving in that moment (the empty part of the cup never looked so good!) Second, I am grateful for the blessings that are given to me instead of His wrath. (Life’s blessings, however small, always appear exceedingly precious when viewed against the backdrop of the wrath I deserve.) This two-layered gratitude disposes my heart to give thanks in all things and it also lends a certain intensity to my giving of thanks. Such a gospel generated gratitude glorifies God, contributes to peace of mind, and keeps my foot from the path of foolishness and ruin.
Rev. 14:10
Psalm 75:8
Psalm 116:12-12
Psalm 23:5
Ephesiens 1:3
1 Thessolonians 5:18
Philipians 4:6-7
Romans 1:21-29
2 Comments
January 29, 2009 at 9:43 am
I absolutely love this little book! It has fed my soul many times. Thanks for posting about it Jason.
January 29, 2009 at 4:39 pm
read it. love it. I was in a bad place. feeling like God was going to get tired of dealing with me and this book really helped me feel better. it is a feel good book. God is love and we have to remind ourselves everyday of what he did and does for us.
I will click that little thingy so you can get a point for this book.