After
overhearing a friend's high recommendation of the book, I recently
picked up a copy of Barbara
Duguid's Extravagant
Grace. Within the first ten
minutes of reading, I was floored by her openness to the reality of
her own sinfulness. In the book, Barbara does not feel the need to
validate herself. Instead, she spends the entire book explaining how
the Gospel is made all the more beautiful because
of our inability to achieve a sinless life.
Have you ever
wondered why there are some sins in your life that you just can't
seem to overcome no matter how much you've prayed, tried, confessed,
and so forth? I know I have. If God's purpose in sanctification is
to make us “better and better” day by day, doesn't it seem like
we're miserably failing? Or maybe He's not doing His job well
enough? Barbara uses the writings and theology of
John
Newton to explain how God uses our failures and weaknesses to
point to His glory. A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
“Newton argues that this greater goal is the fashioning of humble
and contrite hearts in God's chosen people as, through their ongoing
weakness and sin, they come to trust in themselves less and less and
to trust and delight in Christ more and more.”
“God chose to leave us significantly deformed and imperfect after
our conversion because he values something more than our
sinlessness.”
“God is capable, when he pleases and for his own purposes, of
giving me the grace to stand and resist temptation. But often he
chooses instead, for his own good purposes, to show me grace through
my falls, humbling me and teaching me my desperate need of him.”
Of brothers and sisters in Christ, who should not be surprised by our
sin, we should hear: “'Of course you sinned... Come with me to the
throne of grace to celebrate the love of your Savior and to find help
in your time of need.'”
"What if
being reminded that you don't have to change to win God's favor
unleashes such joy and sense of safety in your soul that changing
becomes the thing you desire most, simply out of gratitude for such
overwhelming acceptance and love?"
"....God seldom frees us from besetting sin before showing us
how deeply inability is rooted in our souls. If this work were
cooperative, with me and Jesus working together, then at the end of
the performance there would be two people on stage taking the bow.
However, understanding my inability leads me to a far different
posture. I am not on stage next to Jesus, taking a bow. Instead, I
am flat on my face in the dust, with my hand on my foolish mouth,
worshiping at the feet of my beautiful Savior whose power and grace
has rescued me."
The
first few chapters of the book explain different maturity levels of
believers. I'd never thought of her distinctions and found the
comments fascinating. She then spends a few chapters breaking down
an understanding of human depravity and where God's grace fits in the
bigger picture. She uses many scriptural references to back her
points but not in a dry, lifeless way. She pointed me to an
immeasurably great and glorious God. Her writings have driven me to
my knees in both tears and prayer. I've been given a greater
understanding of my own heart so that I may grow in my patience with
the sins of others. She finishes the book by giving the “joyful
implications of amazing grace,” which include advantages of
remaining sin. Yes, you read that right – and I won't give the
spoilers here.
This book rocked me
to my core. It made me consider things in a way I've never given
much thought to before. If you've ever struggled with sin, if you've
ever been on the suffering side of the sins of others, if you feel
dry in your relationship with the Lord, you need to read this book.
For that matter, if you have a fervent desire to grow as a believer
or even an apathetic attitude towards the Christian life and are
ready for a change, read and be blessed.
Take care,
Terra
