Pictures of Grace

A testimony from Tullian Tchividjian's church, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.



Everything we so desperately seek and long for, Christ offers to us in himself. Jesus is the end of the endless treadmill of trying to be good enough. Jesus is the end of having to constantly compare yourself to others to see if you stack up.  All the acceptance and worth we so desperately want, in Jesus, we already have. 

The Promises of Sin vs. The Promises of Christ part 2

Continuing yesterday's post, let's consider the promise of vanity. At the heart of vanity is the fight for true worth and beauty. We believe if we are attractive and beautiful, then we will have worth. However, as Jonathan Dodson points out, "Instead of relying on vanity for worth, consider the beauty of God."

"What we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears

we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2

In the case of vanity, turning from the promises of sin to the promises of Christ means turning to God's beauty and resting in the beauty you have in him. It is turning from cheap beauty to true beauty. In fact, as humans, the pinnacle of our beauty can only be found in Christ. He is the perfection of beauty. The gospel is good news, because Jesus Christ came and took our ugliness upon himself, so that through faith in him, we could be clothed in his never ending true beauty. 

Vanity says: "Perform beautifully and you will have worth."

The gospel says: "Jesus performed beautifully for you; therefore, in Jesus you have never-ending worth."

*Much of the above is taken from Jonathan Dodson's, "Gospel-Centered Discipleship"

The Call to Fight

Regardless of who we are, or what walk of life we are in, everybody fights for something. Some of us fight for an image. Some of us fight for approval. Some of us fight to be heard. Others fight to have control. Whatever it is, we are all fighting for something.

The New Testament is filled with imagery of fighting. However, for those who have new life in Christ, the call to fight shifts drastically. Whereas before, we tirelessly fight for our own identity, with Christ, the call is to fight to believe that Jesus is our new identity. Further, we must daily fight to believe that in Jesus, everything we long for and desire, we have in Him. Christians are called to keep fighting to believe in Jesus.

We must fight because this is not easy. How easily do I go back to believing the lies of sin and idolatry! Sin says Jesus isn't enough. Sin tells us the idols of our hearts are what we really need. If I only I had that one thing then life would be OK. I'll be satisfied if I had more money, or if I gain the acceptance of this circle of people, or if I am successful professionally then I'll have people's respect and have joy. Or, if I get a girlfriend/boyfriend I'll find the love I'm looking for. I need to fight to believe the gospel over these idolatrous lies every single day.

The truth is that our hearts were meant to find satisfaction in God and God alone. Our hearts were fashioned in his likeness, and they will be restless until they rest in Him (Augustine). Even though I know this is true, my heart drifts towards my idols every day. Because of that, the Bible calls us to fight to believe, to fight for our joy in Christ. Jonathan Dodson summarizes:

"Disciples of Jesus are called to fight, not in physical or virtual combat, but for the noble cause of everyday faith in Jesus...We fight to believe that Jesus is more precious, satisfying, and thrilling than anything this world has to offer. This is faith in the gospel-the grand announcement that Jesus has defeated sin, death, and evil through his own death and resurrection and is making all things new, even us."


Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship (Crossway, 2012), 59-60. 

Our Significance

"Significance does not lie in what one can accomplish on one's own. It does depend on the one to whom one is connected. But everyone possesses true significance, because all are created in the image of God. There is no one else one could attach oneself to who could give a person greater significance than that person already possesses, by virtue of this connection to God. Furthermore, this significance is linked to creation, not to whether a person follows Christ. It is not just Christians who are inherently significant in God's eyes. All people bear the image of God in a way that unites them to one another and distinguishes them from the rest  of the beings in the universe. We do not have to be on the celebrity chasing carousel. We do not need fame or even a connection to famous ones. We already have something more, a direct connection to God, and this connection is the source of real significance. As we grasp the fact that this connection brings with it the opportunity to share in and reflect God's intratrinitarian relationship, then all of life begins to appear in a new light. The work we do, the human relationships we try to develop, the success we try to attain-these things need not be attempts to gain significance for ourselves. Rather, we can see them for what they are- opportunities to work out the implications of the significance we already have as people created in the image of God, people meant to share in his glorious presence."

Donald Fairbairn, Life in Trinity, 68. 

And, I would add: Jesus is the only way to restore us to this beautiful significance. Jesus is the way God has provided in order that we may fully share in life as it was meant to be lived, in connection to God. Without trusting in Jesus for our sense of significance, we will always be living on a carousel, trying to earn significance. Without Jesus, we will constantly be looking for significance, but will be doing so disconnected from the One from whom our significance actually comes.