Reflections--Sonship Retreat Schladming Style

I spent 5 days in the Austrian Alps in this adorable town called Schladming with my team going through Sonship. Sonship is curriculum put out by World Harvest and I would highly recommend you look into it. The Gospel was presented in a beautiful way and I was reminded yet again that the Gospel is more than just the entryway into the Christian faith, but that it is so much more powerful than that. 


Here are some of my thoughts about Sonship: 


This life, therefore, is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness; not health, but healing;  not being, but becoming;  not rest, but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it.   The process is not yet finished, but it is going on. This is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified. --Martin Luther


We analyzed idols in our lives: things we put our trust in, desire, or fear above God and how these things blind us to God's love. Sometimes these idols can be good things that we just allow to take priority in our lives and put before God. The good news is that God never tires of forgiving us. His well never runs dry. He still calls us to Himself as His beloved children. This blows my mind and what it really did was break my heart. How can I, such a wretched sinner, be so incredibly loved and still smiled upon after all the sins that I commit on a daily basis? Still rejoiced over? (Zeph. 3:17) I thought of Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." When we present ourselves broken to God, He welcomes us with open arms as His child. The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I see my sin and my need for a Savior. Thank God that the Gospel continues to work because you cannot look at the intensity of your sin and the holiness of God unless you have a huge Jesus to bridge the gap between the two. This life is a constant process of sanctification and it is pretty messy. Sometimes it's two steps forward, three steps back. But God does not grow faint or weary and He will keep pushing us along, always looking at us with favor because we are His children and He delights in us. 


While enjoying some quiet time in the mountains, I felt what it was like to be rejoiced over. That the King of the Universe delights in me, this vapor, and a sinful vapor at that. I felt so little sitting in the middle of these giant mountains, yet felt so at peace and so loved by my creator. He loves me in spite of my sin and still wants me to draw near to Him and discover His heart.