This week’s Wednesday Reads was another suggestion from Wes, who said it was easily one of the best books he’s read so far this year. I would agree.

Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been is exactly what it sounds like. The author, Jackie Hill Perry, tells the story of her life as a gay woman, her encounter with Christ, and the road that she has walked since. The story doesn’t contain any “boom, now you’re straight!” moments or any concise and easy conclusions for those who are same-sex attracted, and even though the author is now married to a man and living a heterosexual lifestyle, she’s careful to note that this doesn’t mean she no longer struggles with this temptation. It’s a difficult story, about how walking with Christ towards holiness is not easy and is only possible through His power, something that ALL believers know. Holiness is not instantaneous, and temptation is always present. But God’s strength is sufficient in our weakness, despite us, so that He can be glorified through us.

The writing style is beautiful, and the very way the author strings words together as she tells her story is powerful, as is the content of her testimony. It is, in a great sense, the story that we should all be telling about how Christ has redeemed us and changed us and how we continue to walk in victory through His power alone, at times clinging to Him even tighter, knowing that no good lives in us. It SHOULD be our story, but too many of us minimize our sins and attempt to rely on our own strength, relegating Jesus to nothing more but a compartmentalized part of our lives. Though my struggles are different than Perry’s, I’m wholly convicted after reading this book that I need to own up to my sins and throw myself on the mercy of Christ, trusting Him daily to empower me – through His power and not mine – to live a life worthy of His blood.

You should read this book, friends. So, so good…