Friday, February 5, 2010

The Good News

I've been thinking a lot about the life we have been offered lately. In the Bible Study I am involved in we have been talking about the Gospel, or the “Good News”, and I'm trying to grasp a concrete idea about what these terms may mean and what they may look like. In the New Testament, the word, “gospel”, or “good news”, is used 96 times! I think God must be emphasizing this idea for a reason as He felt the need to mention it so often! Yet even in though we would all agree to the importance of this concept, I believe it is something that we all struggle with from time to time. If we are in fact saints who occasionally sin then why so often do we feel like sinners who fall so easily to temptation? Why are we so quick to forget who our Father is and what His son, Yeshua promised us? Perhaps the problem doesn’t lie within our forgetfulness but rather in our lack of knowledge and understanding.

Yeshua says the, “kingdom of God is near”. What is the “Kingdom” actually and what it would look like if it were actually near. Yeshua mended the divide that occurred in the garden. If we live in that freedom of the relationship with our Creator, we begin to understand what that Kingdom may actually be.

God didn’t need to create us in order to be praised. Within the community of the trinity there is constant praise going on. The Father is always pointing to the Son and the Son continues to praise the Father and the Holy Spirit is there “just working it all out”. If we were created in His image, then aren’t we supposed to be mimicking this in our communities? Perhaps we need to begin to ask this question, “What exactly are we inviting people to?” Are we inviting people to a community that is uplifting and encouraging or are we extending and invitation to bickering, distrust and glory stealing? We are human and we will fall to temptation and we will fail in bringing the Kingdom with us where we go, but we should be encouraging others in the body when that failure does happen.

If we truly see who we are in Him, and what He offered us when Yeshua went to that tree, then we will begin to see our value and the extent of grace. Maybe, there is more to it then a “get out of jail free” card. Maybe He wants to sit with us and let us see a part of His glory. When Moses came down off the mountain he had to cover his face because God’s glory shown all over his face and the Israelites were terrified. I don’t suggest we go around terrifying the nations; however, I do want to push us to find that glory. We are called to be a light to the nations. If we are to be a light showing the love of Yeshua for mankind, wouldn’t it be much brighter if we were to shine in the same way Moses did?

If the gospel is a precursor to the kingdom in the scriptures, then perhaps we are only living out a part of the invitation God has extended to us. We become satisfied and comfortable living in the basics of His love existing merely on His grace and mercy, but never realizing what true communion with Him would be like. Maybe God doesn’t want us to be so concerned with where He fits into our plan but rather where we fit in bringing glory to Him?


This week, may you feel the glory of our Lord shine upon you. May you ask for a desire to commune with Him and may you get a taste of what the Kingdom truly is.