Is it really Good News?

A little bit of what I have been learning at G42:

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Here’s a bit of stark honesty for you: for the majority of my Christian life I did not believe the gospel was actually good news.

 

I realized that this was the reason I was always so embarrassed to share my faith. Let’s just call it what it is.

 

Does that make me a bad Christian? Maybe.

 

Somehow, in my “adult” life, I had managed to encounter Jesus on multiple occasions and therefore could no longer deny His existence (please feel free to ask me about this if you are interested in details- I know the wording can seem spiritual and confusing).

I also felt as though what people told me about God and Jesus didn’t always match up to the love and peace I had experienced when I encountered Him.

 

On numerous occasions, whether overtly or subtly- this was the message about God that was being conveyed:

I will use an analogy Andrew Shearman used in class that I think illustrates it pretty well. Imagine you are in love with someone and are about to get married and these are his/ her vows:

I love you, (your name). I know that you are my true love. I am happy and I am grateful that you came into my life, that where others have spent their entire lives looking for the one, I have found you. And now that I have found you, I shall never let you go. I promise you, that I shall hold you and cherish you and give you my heart, that I shall support you and care for you. Faithfully, I shall always stand steadfast at your side with your hand in mine, regardless of what life would bring to us. I take you now as my wife/husband, and I shall remain so for the rest of my life….
but if you don’t love me back and do everything that I say, I will kill you.

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This may seem a bit extreme, but is it not essentially the message being conveyed about God? God loves us so much and has forgiven us BUT, if we mess up and don’t do a good enough job being a “good” Christian, he will send us into the depths of hell.

This was the good news I was supposed to be sharing?

I knew in my head that the gospel should be good news, but as many times as I tried, the head knowledge was not being translated into heart knowledge.

It is confusing.

After my time here, I can finally say that I do in my heart of hearts believe that the gospel is not only good news, but bigger and better than we were ever told.

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But it’s kind of like this… I can tell you all about my friend Bree:

I can tell you how great she is, how trustworthy, brilliant and funny she is.

Or I can tell you that she sucks, that she is wrathful and angry and will do whatever she can to make your life miserable.

But the truth is that neither of these descriptions really matter to you until you actually spend time with her and learn it for yourself.

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I believe that in a way it is the same with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. No matter what any one says about Him, ultimately it will come down to you and what you think of Him when you get to know Him.

So… I am not going to explain how I came to this realization, partly because it would be a novel and partly because I’m not sure it would help. What is much more beneficial is for you to invite the Holy Spirit to show you God’s character and reveal to you whether or not it is actually good news.

And, if it is anything like my experience, He will show you that life is more exciting, adventurous, and joyful than you ever thought possible (truly). That life with Him is the exact opposite of boring. That who you are with Him is beautiful, powerful, and ok. And you will be brought back to life knowing you are so, so loved.

So, if this is something that has been on your mind recently, here is my advice:

God is bigger than you questioning if He is actually good. He can handle it, so tell Him exactly how you feel about it and know that He won’t love you any less.
Ask Him to reveal to you whether or not it is actually good news.

I think you may just find it is bigger and better than you ever thought or believed.

 

Here is a teaching from a past intern named Kellen that I think gives a great illustration about the revelation I have had about our Father’s love:

 

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