The following is an excerpt from the Missional Motherhood book by Gloria Furman. The book releases officially on May 31 and we have a Bible study to go with it, releasing June 1! To find out more about the book and study, click here.
Houston, we have a problem. Hyderabad, we have a problem. Hanoi, we have a problem. World, we have a problem. God is utterly holy, and this is bad news for billions of sinners like us. We stand up straight before God’s law because we think we measure up to it quite well, thank you very much. Or at least we measure better than that mother over there, right? If we’re not standing tall and proud next to God’s righteous law, then we’re ignoring it while we create our own moral code to live by. But we can’t even be consistent in our own man-made rules. No one can. We fail at every point. What we need is for someone to point out that our self-righteous efforts are futile because of God.
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. (Mal. 3:2)
No question in the universe is more important. Who can stand when God appears? God is the ultimate reality with whom we must be reconciled. But as we saw in generation after generation of people in [the Old Testament], no one can stand. No, not one. What we need is divine mercy.
And God has shown us mercy. Before time began, before we ever sinned, the triune Godhead devised the plan for our redemption. This almighty love could not be thwarted by even the darkest kingdom, the heaviest of disgraceful chains, the vilest covering of shame, the most powerful inclination toward sin, the most indelible stain of guilt, and the most reprehensible enemy. This God could not only create life, but he could resurrect life. Through floods, through wars, through slavery, through water, through fire, and through captivity, this God would not be stopped. He would make his name famous in all the earth. He would set his covenant-making and -keeping love on his elect people. He would restore unworthy sinners to himself. Our souls, though all hell should endeavor to shake, he will never, no never (no never) forsake:
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him (Eph. 1:4).
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Eph. 5:25–27)
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Col. 1:21–23)
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. (1 Thess. 4:7)
Malachi asked, “Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand in his presence when he appears?” We have an answer through Jesus Christ:
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 24–25)
God is extending to us his mercy through his Son. Jesus died for sinners, and through our faith in him we can stand in God’s presence justified. When we repent of our sin, believing this gospel, we have Christ to gain.
No amount of ignorance can absolve you, your children, your next-door neighbor, or your neighbor in the farthest reaches of the globe. No maternal glory, missional ministry, or nurturing accomplishment can bear the burden of cleansing your sin. We are all without excuse for our sin. If we are not blameless in God’s presence, we will be consumed by his wrath. This is our eternal need, but our everyday needs confuse us. It feels like our biggest need is a car that runs better, or a child who obeys fully, or a friend we can confide in, or a husband who appreciates us, or a church that values our gifting, or a ministry that fulfills us, or a body we are proud of, or a bank account that doesn’t worry us. Any one of those things may feel like the biggest, most pressing need we have. But they all pale in comparison to our need to stand in the presence of God, to whom all glory, majesty, dominion, and authority belong forever. We may feel justified or empowered before our friends if we follow our mom-made rules, but not before a holy God who requires that we be perfect as he is perfect. Our biggest problem: our sin (not somebody else’s sin). The only solution: Christ.
Herein lies our redemption from our sin—the person and work of Jesus. Period.
Gloria Furman is a wife, mother of four, cross-cultural worker, and writer. In 2008 her family moved to the Middle East to plant Redeemer Church of Dubai where her husband, Dave, serves as the pastor. She is the author of Glimpses of Grace, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full, The Pastor’s Wife, and Missional Motherhood. www.gloriafurman.com
