Lately, as I have been talking to others about the Gospel, I have found that many of those with whom I converse can give the correct nuts and bolts of the Gospel. They talk about the perfect life of Christ, the death of Christ, as well as the resurrection of Christ. They even talk about the need to repent and believe. As I said, the nuts and bolts are there...but their lives do not seem to change in significant ways...or if there is change it's not long-lasting. And there does not seem to be any excitement about that Good News.
It's kind of like those who live in any other state outside of WA state. (Hopefully, you just said "huh"). In WA state, gray and misty are commonplace. To go months and months without seeing the sun is no exaggeration. So when the sun comes out, people are generally more friendly, dogs are walked longer, meals are eaten outside, hikes are taken without rain gear...and on and on I could go. Having moved away from WA to a state that sees a lot of sunny days, I can honestly say that there is a much different reaction to the sun. It's a normal occurrence where I live. Most likely today will be a sunny day as well as tomorrow. There's no need to enjoy right now what will be true tomorrow.
I have a strong hunch that something similar has occurred in America with the Gospel. It's great to hear that Jesus lived a perfect life. That will be true tomorrow like it is true today. It's outstanding to know that He died on my behalf so that I would not have to face the wrath of God and God sees me as perfect. That will be true tomorrow like it's true today. And I can't wait for Jesus to return and rescue me (and the rest of my Christian brothers and sisters) so I can be with Him forever. That will also be true tomorrow just as it's true today.
I think that a huge missing piece of the Gospel message is the reasoning behind Jesus' perfect life, saving death, and bodily resurrection. I remember "Oti" (pronounced hoti) phrases in my Greek class. They are the "in order to", "because", or "so that" phrases. These phrases make all the difference in the world. They give an insight into the motivation, rationale, or reasoning behind why someone is to do this or that. Plugging that idea into the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus starts to highlight the true good news of the Gospel. Jesus lived a perfect life, died a horrific death, and completely rose from the dead SO THAT I would follow Him, SO THAT I would emulate Him, SO THAT I would make much of Him, SO THAT I would tell others about Him, SO THAT I might be dependent upon Him. Without the "SO THAT" ideas, knowledge of and belief in what Jesus did is not really good news. It's just news that leads to further deception. If I am not following Him, emulating Him, making much of Him, telling others about, and DAILY depending upon Him, then that means I am following someone else, emulating someone else, making much of someone else, telling others about someone else, and daily depending on someone else.
This blog post is the beginning of a multi-part series that is aimed at staying focused on our mission as Christians. I have hinted at what each blog post will be in the coming weeks. My encouragement is that you examine your own life to see if the Good News of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection has made any difference in your life and respond accordingly. May you find joy AND meaning in the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
