The gospel. What does it mean to you today?  We occupy a world that is so calibrated that a single red light can throw off our schedule for the day.  We expect continual top performance out of ourselves and our children and co-workers.  We listen to talk radio that calls for the modern day equivalent of “an eye for an eye.”  We medicate, vaccinate, and anesthetize against physical threats and challenges.  In short, we live in a world whose very order flies in the face of the gospel.  It shouts “you can…”, “you must…”, “you should…”, “you deserve…”, and “you will…”.

In many ways, the gospel is the simplest of messages that God could send to a broken and stained people.  It says, “I love you…I know you are helpless…I will communicate to you through a form that you can understand; I will become a man …I will live a sinless life…I will carry the heavy load of your sin to Calvary…I will pay the price…I will vanquish death…I will provide life abundant...I will send the Holy Spirit.”  There is no “you” in the gospel; there is only “Him.”  Jesus did it all.  You and I merely stand as a humble recipient of its grace.

  

In many ways, though, the gospel is the hardest of messages that God could send to a broken and stained people.  How difficult to live in a “me and now” world and stay dependent on the gospel message.  Praise Him for Easter and for the Lenten season that calls us, as believers, back to a place of marvel and awe at the completeness of the gospel message.  Our response is to bow before Him as recipients of His grace and mercy.  In the words of Patrick of Ireland, fifth century Archbishop of Armagh:

    “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

    Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

    Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

    Christ when I lie down,

    Christ when I sit down,

    Christ when I arise,

    Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

    Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,

    Christ in the eye of every one who sees me,

    Christ in every ear that hears me.”

May the power, simplicity, and challenge of the gospel resonate in your hearts today.

Blessings,

Ron