Calorie free, homemade macaroni and cheese? How about if Starbucks
sold their pumpkin spice latte year-round? They’re both too good to be
true.
Well, how about the Gospel?
When I shared Christ with a Buddhist monk in Chiang Mai, Thailand, his
first response was, “This sounds too good to be true!” The next month
in Cambodia, I had an opportunity to go through the Bible with a
Buddhist teenager who was one of my English students. After hearing it
all for the first time, guess what his reply was? “It must be too good
to be true.”
Then, last month in Nepal, we shared the Gospel with a headmaster and
his son, who are seeking the truth (they currently are not associated
with any religion). After answering many great questions about
Christianity and what being a follower of Jesus Christ looks like, his
response was, “This unconditional love, this relationship, this
Jesus…it must be too good to be true.”
I believe the part that stood out so much to these men is that we
don’t and can’t earn God’s love or favor. Yes, I desire to serve Him
through my actions, but it is not to gain approval or salvation. This
is something that makes following Jesus so fundamentally different
from other world religions.
As Jefferson Bethke writes in Jesus > Religion, “All the other
religions center on people’s righteousness– what we do and how good we
are. Real Christianity centers on Jesus’ righteousness–what he has
done and how good he is. All the other religions essentially say,
“This is what you have to do to be in right standing with God.” Jesus
comes to earth and says, “This is what I’ve freely done for you to put
you in right standing with God.” “
Of course, the exciting part of all this is that it’s not too good to
be true, and we all have the opportunity to share this good news of
great joy! I wholeheartedly believe that one of the boldest prayers to
pray is when we ask God for opportunities to share Him. Oh man, He is
faithful with that. You ask for it, and your eyes will be opened to
the many divine encounters He places in your day.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes…”. Romans 1:16
