living the real gospel...

I am just sitting here and ruminating on the definition of the real and true gospel and what that really means in regard to our daily lives. I honestly do not believe we value enough the importance of the gospel being interwoven into the fabric of our day to day life and what an integral part of us it becomes when we are a follower of Christ. I feel like many of us view it as something we put on when we “go” on a specific designated mission for God. I frequently see it really used as an accessory and an afterthought as opposed to something as vital as the very air we breathe. It looks good on us and we appear righteous and holy when we are sharing the gospel and our story with someone of how God has worked in our lives. It's like raising our hands in worship to an amazing God on Sundays at our churches and forgetting to use those same extended hands in service to others through the week. The sad fact is that this is something so basic and intrinsic within our DNA that we should both seek out and pray for opportunities to share this with others always. There really are two separate components to this good news and it is difficult to get people to effectively understand this unless both are working together, I call it a show and tell approach and it is vital to maintain the credibility and impact of what you are trying to say. I can remember many times in elementary school when we would have an entire day solely dedicated to show and tell. I know that I am a visual learner and the idea of tying a visual demonstration of something together with a lecture or discussion was always much more effective for me. I think this is true for a lot of others as well. The showing part is the actual physical doing...coming along side with compassion and understanding and meeting a perceived physical need, All too often it's easy to use words...sometimes a lot of words...sometimes too many words...and tell someone what you or God is going to do to change and improve their life. However, if there are unmet physical needs...like hunger...poverty...lack of clean water...need for basic medical care...then those words don't carry much weight. Even if you come to an impoverished people with those words and an abundance of “hand-outs”...it's no different as you are only applying a temporary solution and creating an even greater dependency. Over time we have learned that this is bad and totally counterproductive to the true gospel message. A sustainable relationship where both parties are invested to create a vision of how that the hope of a better life comes from surrender to and trusting in God is inherently better. The other equally critical part of this formula is the actual verbal proclamation of the gospel message. In Romans 10: 14,15 it says,
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
I really like how that says...you have to preach to them. We all know that there is a way to do that in truth and love and without being overbearing...holier than thou...and preachy. I think most of us know that turns people off and when turned off they shut us out. I know saying that probably is controversial to some. Some believe you just put it out there in a forceful evangelistic way and let the chips fall where they may. Perhaps...I don't know. I am just saying what is effective for me and most likely a lot of other people. Irrespective of your chosen style the bible is clear we are to bring the good news to all...everywhere we go. Rick McKinley, Pastor of Imago Dei church in Portland Oregon says, “ We need the gospel...in order to give the gospel...” That is one of those statements that seems so true and obvious it needs no mention. Unfortunately, it does need mentioning because it's like one of the prime physical laws of the universe meaning you cannot possibly give what you yourself do not possess. Do you have the gospel? Is it woven into the fabric of your daily existence? Are you living it? The bigger question probably is... do you actually know what the “real” gospel is? Notice I said real? So, that clarification and emphasis perhaps would lead one to believe there are other versions or corruptions of the gospel, right? Well, indeed there are and in a few future blog postings I will delve into that a bit as it is too much to tack on here. We need to be perfectly clear that our sharing of the gospel must be done in complete faith and understanding that it is totally sufficient unto itself...nothing need be added...nor taken away. Anytime you see the ___________...you fill the blank...gospel you can be suspect of it. This is where we get into so much trouble when we put our own spin on it and it becomes this mutant thing far from the original. So how will you preach today?...how will you share your story?...how will you show someone...perhaps the most unlikely someone...how this gospel works to bring redemption and hope and peace?. God has trusted you with the most important thing you could or will ever do...making Him famous and known in the world. Will you be the salt and the light or will you let someone else do your job?. I know it's not easy...but do the hard work and have that conversation...pray for the opportunity...to do something that will have eternal impact...how awesome is that?