Life is really difficult. As I was sitting in my Gospel Community last night listening to the vulnerable words of an amazing but overwhelmed mother of four, I was overcome with a wave of realization of how much I, myself need Jesus. Not just some days, but every day, every hour, every minute. Because life is difficult, but the Gospel makes it possible.
In my church, we talk a lot about the Gospel. But what is it, and why does it make living a difficult life easier? It’s impossible for me to describe all the depths of the Gospel. Here’s my best attempt: we are all sinners and therefore unable to come before our Holy God. But God wasn’t okay with that because He loves us and wants us to be near to Him. So He took the form of man and entered into the physical world as Jesus. Jesus lived the life that we cannot live – the perfect, sinless life. And then he took the blame for our sin, suffered the punishment we deserved, and died a death meant for us, all so we can spend now and eternity in communion with God.
Can we just take a second to think about how THAT IS SUCH GOOD NEWS!!
No wait. Take a couple more minutes. I often forget to just sit and think about what Jesus really did. I become disenchanted with the Gospel, when in reality it should be all consuming, the truth from which I live my life
But what does the Gospel mean for me? How does that make living a difficult life manageable? It means being fully known and fully loved. Because of the Gospel, I have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. He knows me deeply and intimately. He invites me to look at Him – Abba Father, Creator, Lover of my soul, and know that no matter what I do, or what I say, or whatever situation I am in, I am loved deeply and passionately.
That is the kind of love that drives my life. Or at least it should. I would say that 90% of the time I am actively messing that up by either ignoring it or taking it for granted. But being loved that radically is what allows me to live this messed up, hard life. It is the knowledge that there is nothing I can do to make God love me any more or any less than He already does. Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. Verses 38-39 say this:
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below – indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Ahh guys, do you understand this?? NOTHING we do can take away God’s love! That frees us to be in difficult situations, crying out to the Lord in sorrow or joy, fears or anxieties, witnessing evil and being angry about injustices, yet still know that our Father LOVES US.
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t usually get overly excited about things. I don’t usually show my emotions well. But whatever it was that the Holy Spirit hit me with tonight, man it did something to me. I just can’t get over it. And I have legitimate excitement welling up inside me even as I’m typing this.
Sometimes I just need to be reminded of the Gospel. Scratch that. Every day I need to be reminded of the Gospel. Writing this made me think about something I’ve been working over in my head for a while. The phrase “But God” appears over and over in the Bible. Every time I read it, there’s something about the words that latches on to me, but I’ve never been able to figure out why. A couple weeks ago I went to a women’s workshop at my church where the speaker discussed depression. She focused a lot on the words “But Jesus.”
I am not good enough, but Jesus.
I cannot do anything right, but Jesus.
I don’t deserve what I have, but Jesus.
I mess everything up, but Jesus.
I’ve already asked forgiveness for that a hundred times, but Jesus.
No one likes me, but Jesus.
God can’t love someone like me, but Jesus.
I should be more ______, but Jesus.
In the end, Jesus is all that matters, right? Every bad thing about me is covered through Him. Every mistake, every sin, every insecurity, every anxious thought, every doubt, every unbelief, all of it. None of it is important before the face of God.
Because life IS hard.
But Jesus.
