my neighbor who is also the ob ject of God's accepting love. A friend of mine was at a conference and greatly blessed by a man who had spoken. When he encountered the speaker the next day he shook him by the hand and said, "Sir, I do thank God for you." The fellow was not embarrassed but looked up brightly, "You know, I thank God for myself." While that may sound unusual it should be the normal experience of our hearts. Can you look in the mirror and thank God for yourself because He has redeemed you? It is important to realize that this self is a container and manifestor of the divine. Most of the theology impregnating our hymns, sermons, Bible studies and prayers empha sizes the great truth of justifica tion. Yet this is only half of the word God spoke through Christ to humanity. Paul says (Colossians 1:27) that it is a mystery which has been hidden from generations but is revealed to us. This has been committed to us as ministers of the Gospel. Basically, the heart of the Gospel is not the cross, the blood of the Saviour, or the second coming of the Messiah. It is the fact Page 27
by John Whittle
John Whittle is the western representative with World Wide Evangelization Crusade. As we consider our lives, we have to realize that there is a gospel according to every one of us. Each of us is an original. We can be thankful for this wonderful variety God has given. One humanity seeks to function on its own while the other recognizes that it cannot. The Lord's acceptance of us, the unacceptable, forms the first trans forming experience for the individ ual. It envelopes him in the sense of well-being which is almost in- expressable. It is my experience that I had to learn to accept myself because I am accepted by God. Often I fool ishly tried to combine self-rejec tion with Christ-acceptance. Such will always work havoc in anyone's life. Remember the prodigal son and how he was swept up into a storm of unconditional acceptance by his father? He was not allowed to finish his well-prepared address of repentance. Accepting myself, though unac ceptable, enables me also to accept
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