My Wife and Friends

Today has been a very interesting day so far. There has been so much random happenings throughout this short day that it forces me to think about how good God has been to my wife and I. All of this started from my beautiful best friend.

If that doesn't make too much sense, give me a chance to explain:

Scenario:
Ali is spending her only day off this month with our friends to help them prepare for their wedding this Saturday. These two individuals we have only known for a little over a year, but I would consider them such great friends.

Why God's Grace?

There are two reasons:

1. My Wife
Ali is my best friend. She makes me laugh everyday, and most people understand how hard that is to do. She challenges me to become a more godly man, and she makes me desire to search Jesus every single day. She makes me seek ways to serve those around me on a daily basis. She is certainly flawed in many ways, but God is growing her on a daily basis and her transformation in Jesus has been amazing to see. God's grace is shown to me by giving me such a loving and generous friend and wife to spend my life with. God has shown His grace by transforming her heart from reject Him to seeking after Him and pursing to proclaim His goodness and gospel to the world.

When we met for the first time I knew that she would challenge me in many ways. I remember the first conversation we had. It was centered on how God saved us both from ourselves, our sinful nature, and the sin that sought after for so many years. She made me feel challenged and encouraged at the very same time, and at that moment I knew I wanted to get to know her more. To this very day she challenges and encourages me to be a better man, friend, husband, future father, and follower of Jesus.

God is gracious.

[I will be writing a new series called #Marriage that will be coming out in October.]

2. Community
These two individuals have been such great friends over the past fifteen months. Over this short amount of time we have seen them go through so many hard situations that I sincerely respect them for their commitment and dedication to one another and their Savior. They have persevered through it all and they are pursuing Jesus through it all. I am sure that they have struggled - I know this to be true because they openly talk about - but they have remained strong in Christ and confident in His grace. I can't wait to see them get married on Saturday!

Community is essential and necessary at every level of the Christian church. A healthy and biblical community in a Christian church is unfortunately uncommon. A community that is pursuing the gospel of Jesus Christ while going out on mission to make Jesus known is not common, and I can confidently say that I know that these two friends are seeking after authentic and genuine community at Karis Church. Karis has grown all four of us over this period of friendship and I trust that it will continue. God's grace is evident in saving them, bringing them to this point, and joining them in marriage before brothers and sisters in Christ and ultimately before Himself.

God is gracious.

It has been a great day so far, and I hope that this post challenges and encourages you to pursue Jesus.

Jacob Luis Gonzales