Have you ever heard something that had that ring of truth to it? Whatever it was that was said simply cut straight to the core of the matter and exposed it for what it really was. I’ve been hearing quite a bit of that recently about the gospel of Christ. So, with respect to decades of the traditional ways of presenting the gospel, I think there is a more accurate way to tell it.I have heard over and over again the gospel presented like this: 1) God made us because God is love. 2) We rebelled against God. 3) Jesus came and died on a cross so we would have a way back to God. 4) Now all we have to do is believe and we can be with God. I have problems with 3 and 4 because I have far too often heard them presented in such a way that it sounds like a deal is being made and if I accept it than the reward I get is an eternal life in heaven. This is horribly and utterly wrong. The truth is this: God didn’t make a way back to Him so that we could get to heaven, God made a way back to Him because He wants us back. Do you see the difference? The first implies that God would be just fine in heaven with or without you and the provision of the cross and resurrection of Jesus is entirely for your benefit for you to accept or reject as you see fit. Accept it, and you get to go to heaven. Reject it and you get to go to hell. But that isn’t why Jesus suffered and died on the cross. God wanted us back! Like a loving mother who will stop at nothing to get her child back God Himself endured the agonies of our punishment so that He could have us back. It isn’t about our comfort, it’s about His love. There’s only one reason to accept the truth of Jesus’ cross and resurrection and commit your life to Him, because He deserves those for whom He died. I’m getting so sick of hearing the gospel presented like it was commonplace, like it was some ordinary event between a buyer and a seller, “Do you want this deal or not?” IT ISN’T ABOUT US! There’s no deal here! There’s no contract! There’s no give and take! The only thing that is going on here is a loving and holy God had his own creation rebel against Him. Because He’s holy, our rebellion had to be punished; but because He is love, He didn’t want to just give up on us. So, rather than starting over and giving His love to someone else, He suffered the punishment for our rebellion so that He could continue to give His love to us. The only proper response to such an act is to humbly submit your entire life to Him because He is worthy; and He is worthy because He is God.I’ll retell the story of the Moravians as was told by Paris Reidhead in his sermon “Ten Shekels and a Shirt.” In the early 1800s two young Moravians heard about a slave owner who lived on his own little island in the Atlantic. He owned over 2000 slaves and vowed never to have a preacher come to his island because he didn’t want to hear about God, he was through with all that nonsense. The two Moravians therefore sold themselves in to slavery and then used that money to buy tickets to get to that island so they could share the love of God with those slaves and perhaps with the slave owner. The families of those men stood on the dock weeping and wondering if it was the right thing to do because they knew they would never see them again. As the boat was sailing away one of the men was heard to yell across the water, “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!”This is the only reason for living. If we could just get it through our thick heads that the truth of what is happening all around us is not about eating and drinking, nor is it about what clothes to wear, nor about how many possessions we can own or how much money we can make- all of that is nonsense and will come and go. The truth is that all of us, the entire human race, has spat in the face of a holy and righteous God and we deserve to go to hell because of it. However; because He loves us more deeply than we could ever dream, He would rather go to hell on our behalf just so He could have us back. So, don’t ever tell me again the gospel is about me getting a free ticket to heaven or giving me access to the golden streets where all things are happy. If I have a role to play in this gospel it is only this: to sit and rest while He lavishly pours out His love all over me.
Everything in me wants persuade you to remain vigilant in your decision to pursue Christ's plan for our community, to maintain the relationships with the children God developed during VBS, and to see Christ victorious through prayer, but I won't. Instead, I will remind you of what true missional living is: pursuing Christ with all your being. Many members of our family have forgotten the true mission of our lives and replaced it with what should be it's fruit.
