Skip to content ↓

What He Could Have Been

I often use this blog as a place to think through questions that have been perplexing me or ideas that just need some reflection. I don’t really know what I think or what I believe until I have processed it through the written word. For a few weeks now I have had a note in front of me saying, “see evidence of God’s grace in what that person could have been.” That’s weird, I know, so let me explain.

I’ve explained before that at Grace Fellowship Church we have tried to be deliberate in developing a culture of encouragement rather than discouragement, of pointing more to evidences of God’s grace in one another than in the too-obvious evidences of human depravity. We succeed better at some times than others and find this an area that requires constant rekindling. Still, we trust that this church community remains an encouraging place to be and a place where we actively look for grace.

I have been reflecting recently that some of the greatest evidences of God’s grace in the life of the Christian are the things that person could be or inevitably would be without the active presence of the Holy Spirit and without a commitment to the pursuit of holiness. Sometimes we see evidences of God’s grace in what a person is or has become; sometimes we see evidences of God’s grace in what that person would otherwise be.

Of all the things he could be, he has chosen instead to be a Christian and to live like one. And it shows.

I think of the young man who was raised with very few advantages, whose family has seen generations of addiction and failure, and yet who has been saved by grace and has become the one exception. Literally, the one exception. Of all the things he could be, he has chosen instead to be a Christian and to live like one. And it shows.

I think of the woman who grew up as part of a broken family and who was once convinced that she, too, could only fail at marriage. And yet by God’s grace she has endured difficult times, has built stability into her marriage, and has one of those God-glorifying, Christ-displaying marriages that will last till death parts them.

I think of the woman who could be advancing in a good and exciting career, who has the education, the skills, the experience, and the motivation—everything she would need and everything so many others do not have. And yet she is more committed to her family and to investing in her children while they are young, and for the time being she is content not to pursue that career. She could be a great success in the world of business, but instead has chosen to pursue a different kind of success.

I think of the man who could easily be anchoring a surgical team at a major hospital and earning the kind of money most of us don’t even allow ourselves to dream about. But instead he is using his medical skills on the mission field, living on little more than minimum wage, and storing up treasures in heaven. Of all the things he could do and all the honors he could have, he chooses to be a missionary.

I have met each of these people, mostly as I have traveled. I have met them and seen God’s grace in what they are and in what they could otherwise be.


  • A Batch of New Books for Kids

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (March 28)

    A La Carte: The case against the abortion pill / What I’ve learned about grieving with hope / Heartbreaking deception: teen girls, social media, and body image / Could podcasts save the church from stupidity? / Count it all joy / and more.

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 27)

    A La Carte: New music / Millennials and GenZ / Scotland’s new hate crime law / Cate Blanchett, Easter is for you / Why the Reformed pray for revival / What truly happened to Jesus on the cross? / and more.

  • New and Notable Books

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: God delivers from the suffering he ordains / The beautiful partnership of family and church / The end of religious liberty / On whales, menopause, and thanks to God / Ordinary women, extravagant gifts / and more.