Good news or Good advice

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Scripture: 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17 ESV)

Meditation:
            Above we have part of Jesus’ proclamation of the Good News the Gospel as we call it. For many in our world the good news seems like it is neither good nor new. That is the premise of N.T. Wright’s new book “Simply Good News Why the Gospel is News and What Makes it Good.”
            Dr. Wright argues against all the forces in our society that would push the Gospel aside as irrelevant or worse. He challenges the Christian views of the Gospel that would turn it into simply good advice instead of good news. Dr. Wright argues for a life changing perspective on the good news and shows how it affects every part of a Christian’s life
            He comes up with a simple definition of what the Gospel really is “The good news is that the living God is indeed establishing his kingdom on earth as in heaven, through the finished work of Jesus, and is inviting people of all sorts to share not only in the benefits of the kingdom but also in the work through which it will come to its ultimate completion.”
            No more leading people to pray a sinner’s prayer and then leave them alone to struggle with their lives. No more social Gospel divorced from the realities of the hard work of discipleship and nurture. A healing, peacemaking community that affects the lives of real people in real ways. Changed lives with a future purpose that makes them worth living. Read the book, check it against scripture, and learn a new way of being people of the Gospel.

Prayer:
Help us Lord, teach us to put away the things that hinder your good news. Help us to live out lives that make a difference in the world. May the world see through our actions that the Gospel is really Good and really News that they can use in their own personal lives and in the lives of their communities. Amen.

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