Tim Keller was a very quotable individual, but of all the quotes he left us, I expect one will prove the most widely shared. It speaks, of course, of the gospel—the good news, the great news, the wondrous news, the sends-chills-up-my-spine news, the brings-tears-to-my-eyes news, the I-wouldn’t-believe-it-if-God-hadn’t-said-it news of what Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf.
Every Christian comes to realize that as we grow in our relationship to God, we are faced ever more with the sorrowful reality of our own sinfulness. The closer we come to the Pacific Ocean, the more we realize its vastness and our own smallness; the closer we come to God, the more we understand his perfection and our sinfulness. As we come to a greater knowledge of both God and ourselves, we inevitably realize “we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe.” Yet the news is not all bad. To the contrary, it’s gloriously good, for “at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
This is the gospel in its glory—we are accepted, we are loved, we are Christ’s. And that is worth sharing.
