Author: Pam Davis

ISBN: 13: 9781934068649

Publisher: Authentic Publishing

This short book describes the differences and similarities between God’s grace and gold. It is an interesting comparison given that Christianity, with the current political and financial uncertainty, should be expecting to increase its membership in the Western world at a great rate as people search for answers in religion. In the same way, as the financial markets suffer, one assumes that the safe haven of gold will produce vast profits for its investors. As a result, the mining companies will instantly produce more gold and make more money.

Gold mining companies cannot, however, just dredge up more gold in response to demand. They are discovering ever increasing political, regulatory, environmental and production costs and have to invest more and more to discover new reserves of gold. Likewise, the Western church cannot simply gain more converts because of socio-economic conditions.

The life of a Christian, a church or the mining industry can be likened at various times to a supertanker attempting to move in a new direction. This is often regarded as a negative comparison as the massive ship needs to move slowly and safely. It can, however, be seen not so much as a negative, but rather as a realistic, practical and necessary model.

Some mining companies have attempted to move too quickly, often in scant disregard for the local communities and environment, resulting in violations in health and safety and a backlash from the international community. Mining companies have to invest tens of millions to find the gold, build the infrastructure and then procure permits and funding. This process may take more than ten years before the gold will be produced profitably. In the same way, a Christian may need to invest years of worship, prayer and service before God can reveal a life changing message that succeeds in full surrender and submission. Christians who have attempted to move too quickly often end up confused and angry, they discard the church and, in some cases, their faith.

Pam’s personal story reminds us that, rather than expect to achieve immediate new goals according to personal or world events, changes in people’s lives come about in God’s timing as a result of His investment in their lives. Sometimes this takes many years. Pam struggled with her Christianity until God revealed His life-changing grace at a time when she could both understand and surrender to the message.

Pam explains how the acceptance of the grace of Jesus involves sacrifice, and then grace can flow through into the believer and out to bless others. She describes this revelation of grace in a clear and meaningful way, stripping away the potential complications and giving clear steps towards the receiving and giving away of God’s grace. It is written in the fashion of a friend discussing the issue over a cup of coffee with anecdotes, Bible quotes and discussion topics which are well selected and very helpful.

In an age when the church and society thrive on cynicism and information overload, Pam presents us with a short, positive book that encourages us to simply and purely receive and give away the grace of Jesus and, through that, discover the joy of being truly alive. She outlines how the gold of the world is inferior in every way to the gold of grace, and gives practical steps on how to discover and protect this extraordinary gift.

If it is God’s timing, He may use this book to radically change a reader’s life today. It will be like walking to a river, bending down and, without any effort, finding a gold nugget sitting in the sparkling water. Or it may be that this book is part of God’s investment in the future. Just like a mining company, certain preparations need to be undertaken before the gold is found. Either way, Pure Gold is a positive and inspirational contribution to the literature on God’s love and grace.