Over the last few years my distaste for the the way the Gospel is more commonly preached continues to grow. I have never been able to present the Gospel as a “life jacket for a ship or a plane that is going down”. I think this offers a watered down message that thwarts the power of the Gospel and the truth that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit want to walk with us here and now. To be honest, when I hear the Gospel presented as such, it seems more like mediocre news or even bad news; “God does’t have much to say now or want to have a relationship with you now, but if you choose Him, after you live your whole life on this terrible, beautiful planet we call earth, He wants to live in unbroken, unhindered intimacy with you”.
How many times a day, week, or month do you ponder on what life after death holds? How many decisions do you base on that? If you do make life choices based on the afterlife, how many of those are based in fear of where you will spend eternity or of not wanting to make God mad?
I can count on both hands how many times in my whole life I have thought about where I am going when I die. If I am honest heaven doesn’t really motivate me to do anything on this side of it. I look forward to Heaven and no more tears or pain but it is not what gets me from day to day. He is.
I believe the beauty of the Gospel is that God wants to walk with you here and now, today. I don’t see how people make it in this life without Him. I understand why people turn to drugs, alcohol, and other things to numb the pain here. Life sucks.
I can say that even if I breathed my last breath and returned to dust with NO promise of eternity, I would still choose to walk with Him today. I really believe that the way He says to live life really is the prescription to live the fullest life. I have found Him to be the ultimate dream fulfiller (more often than not, not in the ways I would have thought) and the ultimate joy giver (even in the midst of some of the darkest days), He brings a hope and peace that are unexplainable, today.
My friend, hear the Good News, God loves you unconditionally, wildly, with no boundaries, expectations, or stipulations. He wants to walk with you, talk with you, and guide you in this life. This doesn’t mean what you think it means. It doesn’t mean you will escape suffering, heartache, or sickness but it does mean that He wants to be your peace, your lamp that lights the way, and the rock and strong fortress you can run to. Sometimes that will look like His guiding hand and voice and other times that will look like flesh and blood brothers and sisters He puts in your life.
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from “The Shack” on what God has done:
“Honey, you asked me what Jesus accomplished on the cross, so now listen to me carefully: through his death and resurrection, I am now fully reconciled to the world.”
“The whole world? You mean those who believe in you, right?”
“The whole world, Mack. All I am telling you is that reconciliation is a two way street, and I have done my part, totally completely, finally. It is not the nature of love to force a relationship, but it is the nature of love to open the way.”
-The Shack
He has so much more for you than Heaven after you die.
Do you have questions about what this means for you now or how to walk in reconciliation with the Father and how to get to know Him? Please shoot me a message or an email!
