Have You Ever Been Punched In The Face?

HT: Chris Kritsas

The amount which you understand the gospel is measured by your ability to be joyful in all circumstances. If you grasp what a treasure the presence and acceptance of God are, then even when life goes really wrong you will have a joy that sustains you, because you’ll recognize the value of what you have in Him. When life punches you in the face, you’ll say, ‘But I still have the love and acceptance of God, a treasure I don’t deserve.’ And the joy you find in that treasure can make you rejoice even when you have a bloody nose. You have a joy that death and deprivation cannot touch.

— J. D. Greear
Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary
(Nashville, Tn.: B & H Publishing, 2011), 81