An Interview with Gloria Furman

On Monday I reviewed Gloria Furman's new book, Glimpses of Grace. While I was reading it, I thought it would be fun to do an interview with Gloria. So here is a little glimpse into the author's thoughts on her book and life in Dubai:  1.     Tell us a little bit of what it is like being a church planter/pastor’s wife in Dubai. This is a tough question, Aimee! I’ll go with the word that perhaps sticks out the most. Dubai is a fascinating global city on the Arabian Peninsula, smack dab in the middle of the 10/40 Window. We’re grateful for the privilege of gathering to worship the Risen Christ corporately. In our local church there are saints from over 70 nationalities, an aspect that we think resembles a little hint of heaven. I thoroughly enjoy being the wife of a pastor here.  2.     What led you to write Glimpses of Grace? I wrote this book because I wanted to remind myself (and others) of the supreme governing reality in our lives when we belong to Jesus—that of being “in Christ.” Learning to cherish the gospel became key for me in beginning to understand this, and living in my home is the primary place I need to work that out. 3.     What has been your biggest challenge in writing this book? It may sound cliché that the biggest challenge I faced in writing this book was comprehension, but I would be lying if I didn’t say so. I fool about praying half-hearted requests based on a half-hearted attempt to comprehend the glory that God has in mind for his image bearers. My sinful heart prefers to settle for temporary, fleeting diversions when there is infinite joy to behold in the face of Jesus Christ. As I attempted to write about treasuring the gospel I became painfully aware of how my heart is divided. My prayer for myself became the same as the psalmist in Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”  4.     Have you noticed many differences in the struggles that women wrestle with in America compared to women in Dubai? I think the fair answer to that question would be both Yes and No. I’ve noticed unique struggles among women who are converted to Christ out of various religious backgrounds. Many of these women continually wrestle with the passions of their former ignorance, being transformed by the renewing of their minds according to Scripture, and even facing hostility from their communities. These struggles can be unique to a particular context. But, American women who are in Christ, who have also been saved by God so they might be conformed to the image of his Son, can face these same struggles in their own context. Because of the gospel we can have cheerful confidence that the grace of God is more than sufficient for all these things.  5.     I love one of the challenges in your book where you say, “Perhaps our relationships are terminally casual because we’re not willing to disclose what’s at the heart level” (154). Explain what you mean here and how honesty and vulnerability in our relationships can also be glimpses of grace. There are a lot of reasons we might not be willing to talk with our friends about heart-level issues. Speaking for myself, the main reason I don’t discuss these things with my friends is because I don’t want to. I prefer to stand aloof to the realities of my sin, the temptations that entice my heart, and the pain of living in a fallen world. In addition to ignoring my own heart issues, in my selfish laziness I prefer to shirk responsibility for “one another-ing” with my friends, too. It is only by the grace of God that we can have honest and vulnerable relationships with one another. Treasuring the gospel reminds me of the gladness of Jesus who, for the joy set before him, set his face toward Jerusalem so that he might bear my sin on the cross. Through faith in his substitutionary death, I’m forgiven in Christ for my failures to love as he loves. And he gives me his righteousness! Through the power of his indwelling Holy Spirit, I can experience freedom to live a holy life. This particular sin’s grip on my heart gets loosened as, by the Spirit, I put to death the deeds of the body and choose to be honest about heart issues. The scandal of the crucifixion of the perfect Son of God tells us that no less sacrifice could atone for our sin. If we Christians claim that the death of the King of glory was necessary to pay the penalty for our sin, can we also honestly hide behind the pretense of our self-righteousness? God’s grace prevails over our pretense, so we can confidently ask our heavenly Father for help to be appropriately honest with the relationships in our lives.