growing up and even up until maybe a couple years ago, my understanding of the "good news of Jesus" and the gospel was centered around a change of address when i die. my understanding was that when you choose Jesus and accept Him as LORD, it means you get to go to heaven instead of hell at the end of life on earth and while you're here you try to please God out of gratitude and love for Him. which is not inaccurate, and i'm guessing, not an uncommon understanding of the gospel. some might even be wondering what else i'm missing. but up until a couple years ago i had missed the complete gospel... the glorious, incredible, unbelievable whole gospel beyond what happens when we die and trying to be an okay person. the problem with the gospel i just mentioned is that it makes everything about the end of life and negates the 50, 60, 70 years we have between then and now, when the kingdom of God is so ridiculously at work and alive right here, right now, on this earth we call home. i can't believe it took me so long to realize that the gospel of Jesus is actually in-and-out transformation, centered around partnership, relationship, with God to bring His transforming reconciliation, restoration, redemption, to life as we know it right here, right now. we're crappy people. at least, yikes, i am. i'm rude, unkind, lustful, prideful, hurtful, fake, jealous, selfish with a heart bent towards serving myself, my stuff, and other people. the gospel of Jesus is acknowledging that heart bend and first, asking for just massive forgiveness- for every way i've forgotten God, ignored Him, chosen myself as god- and then it's walking in relationship with Jesus to leave that old self behind and become increasingly more like Him and His character... just, humble, gentle, patient, slow to anger, crazy rich in love, serving, etc, etc. i don't know about you, but apart from God i'm not any of those things and i don't even know how to be without being reaaal fake. i'm selfish and i don't care, and i've seen a lot of other selfish people who don't care. the beauty of this gospel is that not only does God change you, literally change you, (not overnight, but a glorious lifelong endeavor) but He invites you into something bigger than yourself... He invites you into a community of people who are also being transformed, all as partners of God in the restoration of this earth we call home... restoration of relationships, of the places we live and how we treat the earth, how we treat each other, what we eat, what fills our time... reconciliation and transformation. don't know how to end this post haha but that's what the gospel of Jesus is and i freakin can't ever get over it.
