Foreword by Dr. John Snyder

There are two reasons that I whole-heartedly recommend this study.

The first comes from my knowledge of the author. I met Jordan Thomas (some readers may know him from Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically and Behold Your God: The Weight of Majesty) over twenty years ago in a hospital room when our mutual friend and mentor, Clyde Cranford, was ill. Clyde, who discipled me after leading me to the Lord, also met with Jordan for discipleship after his conversion. Clyde’s formal meetings with each of us went on for nearly two years, but our mutual friendship with him continued long after. However, it wasn’t until after Clyde’s funeral that Jordan and I began to become better acquainted. We were both part of a small group of young men who were training for the ministry that met weekly at a coffee shop in Memphis, Tennessee. As a group, we read through the works of older writers and discussed how the truths we were finding there should be applied in our lives and in the life of a church. The significance of those meetings was greater than we might have imagined, as many of those men have gone on to labor faithfully in the kingdom.

Jordan and his wife temporarily left the Memphis area so that Jordan could serve as an intern at Bethlehem Baptist Church under John Piper. When he returned, he and a small group of hungry believers covenanted together as a new church in February of 2007. Because of our friendship and near proximity, Jordan and I have been able to occasionally preach for each other. I have always been encouraged by the carefulness that Jordan and the other pastors at Grace Church Memphis have exhibited in loving God and His people there.

More than anything, Jordan’s life these past twenty years has been distinguished by an earnest pursuit of and every clearer grasp of Christ’s love and loveliness. It is rare to meet a minister who, after all the ups and downs of the gospel ministry, is pursuing Christ with more delight and intentionality than when he first began. You cannot spend much time with the author of this book without noticing the fruit of his ongoing study of Christ, memorization of significant portions of Scripture, and long hours of gazing on our Lord. Every time I visit with him, Jordan has been a source of good for my soul. The study you are holding in your hands is a product of twenty years of the author’s determination to delight in Christ above all else.

The second reason I am grateful to recommend this book is that its theme is of incalculable value to the Church. In this work, you will be led to reconsider what it means for the people of God to treasure Him in the person of His Son. The author divides this subject into three stages of the Christian’s life: Embracing the unsearchable riches of Christ in conversion, treasuring Christ together with a body of believers on earth, and continuing that delightful duty in eternity with all the saints. Jordan reminds us that we become what we behold. In the author’s own words,

That which most deeply captures your heart most powerfully shapes your character. Your greatest love chisels you into its image. Your character today was formed by what you beheld in your many yesterdays. What you want dictates how you walk.

May God help us all to recalibrate our personal and corporate choices in light of the great treasure of knowing and communing with the One who is altogether lovely!

Dr. John Snyder | Pastor of Christ Church New Albany | Director of Media Gratiae