What about your life would never be the same without the Gospel?
Christians are Gospel people. We celebrate the Gospel every spring: we consider Jesus with sadness and awe on Good Friday, and on Easter we’re swept up in joy. Throughout the year, we hear reminders of the Gospel in Sunday gatherings and in Communion Meditations. We might even call ourselves Gospel-centered. But what is truly different about the way we live? Anyone who identifies as a disciple of Jesus would say the Gospel is very important to them. Many of us would say the reason why is because the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus are the entry point to our life with God. The work of Jesus gets us into relationship with our Maker, and we are grateful. But when it comes to the daily stuff of living in suburban Chicago in the 21st Century, it rarely plays a part. The Gospel, for us, is sort of the like the landing of the Mayflower. Are things different because it happened? Sure. But Plymouth Rock plays almost no part in the way I actually live, make decisions, and evaluate my habits. But what if Jesus’ work is more like the Constitution? What if what he did was meant to shape a community of people? What if the Gospel was meant to be as integrated into our daily lives as freedom of speech, secular marketplaces, and the rule of law? What if the Gospel could produce an entirely distinct way of life that would be impossible by any other means? A few weeks ago, as he was sharing his Communion meditation, Everett quoted John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard movement of the 80’s. It was a quote in which Wimber was trying to essentialize the Christian way of life. He said, “The way in is the way on.” The way in is the way on. The Gospel is the ground-breaking, paradigm-shifting, eye-opening announcement that a whole new state of affairs is descending on our planet in the form of God’s rule, given as a gift by faith to a people who could never achieve it on their own. And that kind of grace, that kind of forgiveness is so much more valuable than just a collectible we purchase, admire, and then store away in a closet. What John Wimber meant was that the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus are more than just entry points to faith. The Gospel is more than just the way to Heaven; it is the way to life. We begin by the grace of God, and it is by the grace of God that we go on. The Gospel changes everything. It changes how the Christian sees the world. It changes how we live. There are few things so small that the Gospel does not somehow shape the way we engage with it: from smart phones to long commutes, from play dates to sinkfuls of dishes, from checking accounts to check-out lines. But how do we as Christians begin to integrate the Gospel so that we know how to live according to it? It begins with what Paul calls the renewing of minds. We have to train ourselves, habituate ourselves, into walking according to the rule of God given as a gift. And that’s why this summer we are doing a series called “Gospel in Life.” Each week we will be exploring one topic and unpacking how we approach that topic differently as a result of the Gospel. Some of the topics that you can anticipate are topics such as work, suffering, justice, aging, entertainment, friendship, and busyness. There are two ways you can prepare for this summer series:
- Prepare your heart. I encourage you to come with a willingness to be adventuresome in your discipleship. The way of Jesus will often lead us into uncomfortable territory, but it will always be rich with meaning. Dedicate yourself now to letting him shape your life in new ways this summer. A concrete way to do this will be through daily prayers that the Spirit would shape you (and don’t forget us) into people who live lives shaped by Jesus’ work.
- Find a friend to share it with. Whether you do this through a community group or over coffee with a friend in the congregation, it will be important to process the ideas in community. Jesus did not save us to be spiritual individualists, but to be part of his people the Church.
Jesus is inviting to live in a way that would not make sense if it were not for his dying, his rising, and his Kingdom coming. The way in is the way on. -Mike
