From Counsel from the Cross, by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson:
[Jesus] has unflinching faith and hope in your transformation because he knows the power of his love. He knows that one day he will bring you to be with himself.
—pg. 63.
This hit me with some force. You see, too often we approach God as if He is unaware of the Gospel. We sin—well, we believe we are forgiven, but that God is displeased, holds the grudge, feels that we'd better re-establish that we really love Him. We sense that He is frustrated, sighs, rolls His eyes, though He forgives us.
But this is to believe in a God who does not believe the Gospel. This is to believe in a God who has forgotten that He has all power to transform us. And that what He started in us, He will finish. (Phil. 1:6)
The truth is, when Jesus looks at us, He sees us in the full context of our entire lives—including the fact that He knows exactly how and when He will liberate us from every idolatry. There isn't a bit of suspense for Him. He doesn't wonder whether we'll pull it together. He knows that He will pull us together, in His likeness.
