The Beauty of Holy Choices

A series of meditations on the beauty of God’s grace.

“You have a beautiful heavenly Father,” McCoy writes in her inspirational debut. “Do you look like Him?” In a collection of chapters that expound on some famous (and a few not-so-famous) incidents in the Bible, the author seeks to demonstrate that believers make a choice to more closely resemble God and that this is the culmination of many other decisions about how to deal with life’s challenges. In short, colloquial chapters on such iconic figures as Joseph and Moses, McCoy uses brief passages and incidents to illuminate the idea of “holy choices,” in which a believer has a chance to make his or her actions have higher worth. In the well-known story of Ruth’s devotion to Naomi, for instance, McCoy finds a parable with contemporary significance: “When life calls for commitment today—in a marriage, in a parent/child relationship, in the body of Christ, or in a friendship—that same spirit of complete commitment will set you up for a harvest of blessing.” The patience of Job naturally draws the author’s unqualified praise, and she draws clear inferences that personal faith is “not a set of persnickety rules about what to wear, what to eat, or what to do.” McCoy effectively provides some stories with longer exposition than others; for example, she offers an insightful explication of the book of Luke’s story of Mary and her busy sister Martha: “Separate the important things from the vital things,” McCoy explains. “A relationship with God must come before service to Him.” Likewise, a lesser-known story from 2 Samuel—in which King David thirsts in the cave of Adullam but pours out water that’s finally brought to him—receives a long, thoughtful treatment that addresses the shunning of desire and the willingness to “discern the sacred” in seemingly mundane things. Throughout, McCoy’s prose is light and accessible, and her discussions will be ideal for Bible-study groups.

A short but thought-provoking look at how the choices the faithful make can refine their resemblances to God.