Hope, encouragement, and love.

Three keywords that describe my blog, and really my entire goal in writing. Whether I’m writing about exhaustion or prosperity, whether I’m writing non-fiction or fiction, my hope is to show people the unfailing hope and love found in Jesus.

Sounds wonderful right?

But wait – I can hear the critics already. Christians aren’t supposed to be unending beacons of happiness and laughter and good times. What about when Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble”? Or “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword”?

I’ve often thought about this motivation I have for writing – which is really the motivation behind my whole life. I too used to think to myself, “Maybe I’m doing something wrong by writing about hope and encouragement. Maybe I should be writing about God’s coming judgment and unattainable holiness instead – after all, whoever heard of encouraging people to heaven?”

But thank God I can now see how wrong I was to think that.

However, maybe you’re reading this post and you’re not so sure. “That voice in your head was right, Shiloh! Why don’t you stop focusing on grace and love so much? When people hear that, they’ll just take advantage of your words and keep on living in their sin.”

And you’re right.

Some people will take advantage of the grace of God, justifying their own sin in light of verses that remind us we’re not saved by works. Peter talks about people like this in the last chapter of 2 Peter, describing them as “untaught and unstable people” who twist the meaning of the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).

History proves this point to be true; false teachers who twist or flat-out deny what the Bible teaches have popped up throughout the ages, and will continue to rise up until the end of time. Even during the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees twisted His words into unbiblical teaching.

Yet we never see Jesus stop preaching the truth because of that.

In Jerry Bridges’ book Transforming Grace, I read a quote that went something like: “the mark of the true gospel of grace being preached is its ability to be twisted into cheap grace”. The gospel is a gospel of grace, and the biblical God is one of incredible patience, love, forgiveness, and mercy. There’s nothing wrong with proclaiming that!

However, it is important to tell people about the “bad news” that makes “the good news” so much better. As true as it is that there’s no sin God can’t forgive, it’s just as true that God hates sin and those who love and serve sin will be judged for it.

“The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, [but] by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” – Exodus 34:6-7

But the reason why we don’t have to be afraid to preach the true gospel – a gospel of grace and hope and peace – is because the people who will twist the Scriptures aren’t our audience.

Paul modeled this well in the book of Romans. In the first three chapters, he uses strong language to condemn both the ungodly pagan and the religious judge for their unrepentance, leading to the famous verse “There is none righteous, no, not one”. But it’s in the following chapters that Paul starts using more gentle language, speaking of love and eternal security and victory in Christ.

The reason for this seemingly abrupt change in Paul’s language, and even his focus in his writing, is because his audience changed from unbelievers to children of God.

Other writers may seek to evangelize through their platform, to call lifelong sinners to repentance and holiness, or even to defend their faith through apologetics articles. There’s a definite need for those things, and I admire those who use their platforms to glorify God in that way. Those are the authors who Christ will use to “warn those who are unruly” (1 Thess. 5:14) and “give a defense… for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:16).

But that’s not everyone’s audience – and it’s not mine. My platform is described by the rest of 1 Thessalonians 5:14.

“…Comfort the faint-hearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.”

My website is for the discouraged Christian who doubts if they were ever truly saved at all. This platform I have is made for the child of God wondering if experiencing joy and prosperity is okay. GracefulSoul is for the weak new believer, the exhausted perfectionist, and the downcast Christian who’s lost their passion and joy.

That’s why I write the articles that I do. And I don’t plan on stopping.