Do I really love the Gospel?

Do I really love the Gospel?

Yes, I do.  I especially love certain parts of the Gospel, the things which benefit me.  Salvation, peace, hope, joy, I love all these aspects.  It's the parts about sacrifice and serving others I have a harder time with.

I find the Apostle Paul's love of the Gospel inspiring.  Woven throughout his letters we see Paul's diligence to the Gospel message.  He is consumed with an urgency to see the Gospel spread.

It is convicting to see how Paul will gladly give up his rights and ours for the sake of the Gospel.  There are social norms and social institutions which Paul restricts not out of inherent sinfulness, but because sharing the Gospel is better.  Slavery, eating meat sacrificed to idols, women being allowed to preach are among some First Century examples.  I have the freedom in Christ to eat meat sacrificed to idols unless doing so hinders someone from receiving the Gospel.

Why did Paul not abolish slavery in his day?  It is not because slavery is good, it's not.  But tackling this social issue would not advance the message.  Salvation is based upon the finished work of Jesus, and if I make altering your beliefs about a non-salvation issue a prerequisite to salvation I am getting in the way of the Gospel.  Paul's aim is not societal reform but eternal salvation.

So what does this mean for us now?  Does this mean social justice is bad?  No.  Both Jesus and Paul radically challenged social norms and institutions, but they did so not to the point of interfering with the Gospel spreading.

I should really love the Gospel more in its fullness, and yearn more to see the message shared.  It also means there are freedoms I have to give up for the Gospel.  The difficulty is not in finding opportunities.

Any thoughts or examples of situations where the freedoms we have in Christ which may be hindering the Gospel for others?  May we be more conscious of how our freedoms affect other's openness to the Gospel.

Heartbreak

Does it ever seem to you that our faith is somewhat lopsided?  Off-balanced?  In my relationship with God I have observed that God does most of the work.  And by most I mean all.

I cannot save myself.  I cannot even sanctify myself.  At the end of the day, all I can do is have the faintest of "yes" in my heart toward God.  And somehow in His magnitude that is enough.

On our own, of our own volition, we as humanity have only broken God's heart.  We had the option to choose God or choose Self, and we chose Self.  Left to my own devices I will gravitate to my own destruction.  The only hope I have is that even after rejecting God, breaking His heart, God still reached down and intervened in my life.

And God has not merely saved me from my sins, He continuously saves me from myself and my sins.  I don't know about you, but I repeatedly stumble.  To be blunt I find myself over and over saying "I love you Lord" with my words, will, and intentions, but with my actions too often I shout "Crucify."  I keep breaking His heart.

Maybe this is just me wrestling with a grace beyond what I can comprehend and certainly beyond what I deserve.  But God's love just doesn't make sense.  

The good news is that what seems like flawed logic to me is actually truth, and it is my logic, my paradigm centered on receiving rather than giving, that is flawed.  The economy of the Kingdom is not about what you can get, but what you can give.

And so I know that God loves me, not by my determination, but by His.  I don't have to win His heart, He  already has and forever will love me.  Not my words.  Not my actions.  Not my achievements.

Me
Just me

God is so relentless in His love for us.  I cannot get over this awesome truth.  I never will, and that is okay because God is more than worthy of all worship for all time.  May I learn to walk in obedience out of a deep love and a recognition of the heartache my sin still causes God.  May we remember that God is not the cruel judge waiting to smite us, but an intimate friend who's heart we have broken over and over, and still says that we are worth it.  And may all conviction we have spur us back into the loving arms of Jesus who is with us and waiting for us.