A Gospeled Heart

Story: Bri Morelock


This morning Katie, Mackenzie, and I grabbed coffee at Sisters. We dreamed together of what life would look like if we could live in the Pearl District, have a cute loft apartment, work in the city, shop the boutiques that are on every corner, your basic girl stuff, etc. We honestly shared our struggles from this week, our victories, and our doubts. I’ve come to cherish these times with them, and our whole family here in Portland.

I’ll be honest, it’s been a painful week for me. All to often I get caught up in my performance for Jesus rather than resting in my relationship with Him. I run to show Him all that I have done for Him, without taking the time to actually know Him. God has been calling up some ugly, complacent, legalistic things in my life that I had no idea were buried in my heart. He has been exposing more and more of my life that is not like Jesus, and I’m praising Him for it.


“but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Romans 5:20

I’m praising because He is not only saving me from myself, He is giving me more of Himself. The more I learn to see my sin correctly, the more I am able to taste and see how good Jesus is. The more time I spend with Him enables me to live a better life on mission, because it is Jesus in me spilling out to others. I’m certain that God brought me to Portland to remind me how much I need Jesus.

I desperately need Him.

So these past weeks have been letting that reminder sink down deep and take root. I have learned to let my heart be “gospeled” by those around me, to let them speak truth into my life and into my doubts.

I’ve read through Matt Chandler’s book To Live is Christ to Die is Gain while out here, and it has confirmed a lot that the Holy Spirit has been teaching me. He walks through the book of Philippians, giving so much insight to the life of Paul and his love for the church of Philippi. I highly recommend it. One quote in particular that keeps coming up as I continue to walk through life with these nine other people is this:

“What does it look like to live in a manner worthy of the gospel? It looks like dying with Christ to one’s self and being raised in Christ to walk in the newness of life with our brothers and sisters. It means living grace-filled lives that grant patience and mercy and gentleness for the spiritual journeys of others and a respect for the differences and idiosyncrasies we all bring to the Lord’s table. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”

We all bring something unique to our community, but that is not for leverage or comparison; it is to showcase the beauty and glory of Jesus and that His grace in our lives allows us to come together on the same turf. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.