The Gospel

Euangelion. Gospel. Noun.

Euangelizo. Gospel. Verb.

This kind of threw me off at first.  I wasn't expecting to see a noun and a verb on the page when I looked up the Greek word for Gospel.  But then it occurred to me: of course.  Of course the Gospel is a noun and a verb.  What a beautiful marriage between two parts of speech, between two truths surrounding the most powerful message the Scriptures breathe.

The Gospel by itself is beautiful.  It is scandalous, it is enrapturing, and it is freeing.  It allows oneness with our Creator, it allows freedom from sin, it allows hope in a heaven where we will be praising our Father in glory and absolute perfection for literally ever.

But what is the Gospel without sharing it?  What would it be if we kept it to ourselves?  It makes absolute perfect sense that armed with the Gospel, we go and Gospel.  We go bring the Good News to those who would have no knowledge of it otherwise.  This beautiful story is not just an anchor of hope and assurance; it is a command.

And, as God's commands often are, it is far from a chore that must be ticked off the list by the end of the day.  It is a natural habit that occurs when one has been permeated with the truth that is the story of Jesus Christ.  How can one keep such a wild and beautiful thing to him or herself?  I love that our Maker has created us in such a way that when we are consumed by Him, the only thing that will bring us joy is loving and glorifying Him through our obedience to Him.  

Of course, I will be the first to admit that the Evil One and my own humanness often hinder me from obeying my Father.  Evangelism doesn't come naturally to the old me.  But praise Jesus, evangelism comes naturally to Him, and by adorning myself with Him, I adorn myself with His character.  

I love the Gospel.  I love that it saved me from both myself and from the Evil One.  I love its simplicity.  I love that the Love flowing from it is more than enough to cover my sins. I love that it simultaneously assures me of the forgiveness of my past, commands and helps me in the now, and promises an eternal future with the Adonai. 

A noun and a verb.  Who knew? I certainly didn't until tonight, at least not technically.  It's perfect.  I am so amazed by God's ability to take even the smallest of details and breathe such meaning into it and into my heart.

The Gospel.  Revel in it.  And then go Gospel.

He Has Made Everything Glorious

So I was laying in my bed trying to fall asleep, but I was distracted by the moon.  It is so bright tonight, and for some reason, so enchanting.  I don’t often get mesmerized by the stars (probably because I live in suburbia where the many streetlamps, floodlights, and other lighting drowns out the stars), but tonight, they’re hard to miss.  I decided to stop trying to fall asleep and instead bask in wonderment at the beautiful, glorious creation that my God made.  I mean, He designed all of this-the way the moon reflects the sun’s light, the stars that seem so small but are actually so gigantic and powerful, and the gradation of light across the sky.  The only way I can describe it is glorious.

And it’s huge.  The universe is so vast; endless according to some.  I don’t understand how God can hold it in the palm of His hand, see the beauty that He has created, and pinpoint not only our planet, but me and say “It is good.”  How can I, a depraved and sorry excuse for a follower of Christ be held in such high regard by the Creator of literally everything?  Undeserving doesn’t cut it, but then again, simply being thankful doesn’t seem to cut it either.  Truly I am awestruck at the love I feel in simply pondering these things.

Then it hit me that I was made for this kind of glory.  In fact, I am placed above all of nature’s glory in that I am created and designed in the very image of the Creator Himself, and individually loved and cared for by Him.  I was created to worship this glorious God and to reflect His majesty.  It isn’t even about owing the Lord anything-it’s that because I was made to glorify Him, I’ll never be satisfied until I do, because that is the single purpose bestowed upon me.  Even the moon and stars reflect the glory of their Creator, and it is a flooring, beautiful thing to behold.  I can only imagine the beauty that would unfold if we the Church and people of Christ truly glorified God as we were made to-it would be so bright, so distracting, that the world would be unable to continue functioning without pausing to gaze and wonder.  My prayer is for Christ to continue His work in me until my King is so dominant in me that it literally stops people and causes them to be directly pointed towards Him.  

What a powerful God I serve.  It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that these stars are the very same stars that the Lord used when promising Abraham generations of children.  That this same sky led Psalmists to pen the very words of worship that are now a part of the Word of God.  That these very stars and this very moon are the ones created by a single declaration-“Let there be light.”  That countless before me have been distracted and stopped by the majesty of the King’s creation, and then filled with hope at the simple glory and beauty of it all.

And then, my heart quickens at the thought that one day, I will be able to see and experience the glory of God up close- the stars won’t seem so little or faint, but rather, I will join them in worshiping our same Creator.  One day, I will behold the One I love, and I won’t even be able to take it because He is that glorious.  So I wait for Him and put my hope in Him.. my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Hope

“The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Such are Jesus’ words to Peter in Mark 14.  At this particular stage in my life, no better words could be said to describe me; in fact, after studying the life and character of Peter, I realize that I almost fully identify with him.

Peter was enthusiastic, indignant, often outspoken, and during much of his early ministry, a coward.  I feel like I could easily take out the name “Peter” and insert my own name.  My study Bible states it quite simply-“he swung like a pendulum, bold and courageous at one moment, yet cowardly when it really counted.”  The most prominent example of this, of course, is his denial-not once, but thrice-of knowing Jesus or being associated with him.  He talked quite the talk, consistently reminding Jesus that he loved Him and had sacrificed so much for Him, yet his actions did not add up to his weighty declarations.  I can only infer that his heart was far from where it needed to be to truly humble himself before Christ and submit to Him.  Jesus recognized this from the beginning, and even knew in advance where Peter’s heart lay; however, Jesus never gave up on Peter.  He more than tolerated him; he loved him, included him, and handed him responsibility on more than one occasion.  

I am Peter, and it's frustrating.  I am enthusiastic, mouthy, and outwardly a follower of Jesus Christ.  I see so many characteristics of Peter in myself, and I hate that I am so far from the kind of living I owe to God.  My heart hurts when I hear the words, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” resounding as if God had spoken them directly to me instead of Peter, because I want to be strong.  I love God immensely, yet I am so frail when it comes to living a life that reflects that love.  I see God blessing me in so many ways and providing for me, and it stirs up the strangest of emotions because I know that I am the least deserving.  The most terrible part of it is that the life I live is not acceptable.  I am expected to imitate Christ, and live a life of progressively becoming more like Him.  The more I mature and grow, the more I see in myself that is sinful and rebellious.

However.

That is probably the most beautiful word in the English language.   I am everything I mentioned before, and Peter is everything I mentioned before, however, but,  Peter did not die a coward.  Peter did not spend every year of ministry in a place where the very placement of his heart was questioned.  By the time he wrote his letters, he had changed radically.  His writings reflect his humility, subservience, self control, wisdom, and purity.  He epitomizes what it means to be taken through an arduous journey of change.  He is the embodiment and representation of hope-the hope that God can transform, renew, and recreate.

I love that I am Peter, because I know that I will not always be the person I am now.  If God can change the heart of Peter, he can change mine.  While on this earth, I will always be a sinner.  However, God has promised to carry onto completion His good work in me, and I trust in this.  He did it for Peter, whom He loved.  I, too, am loved by God.  It is inexplicable, but I know His love for me is long, wide, deep, real, and unconditional.  Because of this, I know I will not remain who I am today.  The Lord has promised to mold my heart, and I am ready and willing for this to take place; in fact, I am sure it is taking place in ways I cannot yet see or understand.  I have full hope in the Lord’s abilities and intentions, and I look forward to the day when it becomes apparent that I am not who I once was.

The Pursuit of Holiness

“We can either run away from pride or run towards humility.”

These are the words of a dear friend, and they struck a chord on me.  After days, months, years of striving to fix myself and to eliminate my weaknesses, hearing these words was so encouraging, invigorating, and convicting.  When he said that, what I heard was this:

“You can either run away from your sin or run towards holiness.”

What a concept! I’ve always had the mindset of chipping away at my sinful nature, slowly changing myself under the headline “I’m allowing God to change me.” However, change and holiness and righteousness all evolve from our pursuit of the Lord in response to His initial love and pursuit of us.  Indeed, we are already made holy in that God’s love has singled us out and set us apart for His purpose!  The knowledge of this grace and love should cause us to run towards Christ; our focus should be on Him and not wholly on our sin.  

In the same way, repentance should not simply involve us turning our backs on our sin, but rather turning our faces to the Lord.  Our hope is in Him.  After all, our walk should not be full of desperation to stop sinning; rather, our walk should be day by day, minute by minute rejoicing in the joy that salvation brings.  We will never be good enough, but we are saved. We are spoken for.

May our strivings cease.

I’m done trying.  Tonight, I’m allowing God to erase the guilt and shame piled upon me by Satan night after night, as I lay in bed unable to sleep for the deep regret and confusion of my sin.  My sins are accounted for, and I am set free.  May our eyes be forever set on our Redeemer.  May we never forget that we are reconciled to God, and because of this, we are able to run to holiness.. we are able to run to Him.