Dear Church, what is the Gospel?

Dear NPPC,

“To me the Gospel is many things. It’s the reason I am alive. It is the story of One whose life gives me life because He put death to death. It is the story that makes my story make sense. More importantly, it is the Good News of Salvation, the best news ever! That’s my simple answer. This is what gets conversations going with others. However, after what I’ve learned in this course, I see how much richness and depth there is in the word Gospel. It’s so much more than the life of Jesus and the cross. 

            The Gospel is not just the story of one man who was obedient to the Father. It’s not the story about a man on a mission. It is the continuation of the first word in Genesis and keeps going with my story today. The Gospel is a story of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit from beginning to end. The perfect God, the perfect relationship invading time and space to make me right with Him. God himself, becoming flesh and not being diminished in any way, shape or form. All God, all man. The hypostatic union. It is not a story with three different characters, it is one story with one love plot and one God that fulfils it all. It’s pretty incredible. 

            The Gospel didn’t start with Jesus coming to earth. It gets “good” when He comes! But Redemption’s story is one that started at the beginning of time and culminates on the cross. All the evil from the fall of man until now, and all the evil that would come fell upon Jesus, the perfect lamb, the perfect sacrifice that would open the path straight back to God. 

            The Gospel is a love story. The story of a God who loved his creation so much that He didn’t think twice in giving Himself to us, for us, to make a way for us to go back to Him. That’s a whole lot of love. This kind of sacrifice is what makes it possible for us to really know Him. To go deeper in the knowledge of Christ, because God himself is revealing Himself to us. All for love. This springs wells of gratitude and worship in me! It’s the awe and wonder that inspires my worship.

            The Gospel is knowing that I am free. It’s knowing that I have life eternal. It’s knowing that even when I don’t have anyone around me, I have a Father who calls me Daughter. It’s knowing that I am loved enough that Jesus makes a way for me to know God as a Father. It’s knowing that I am not alone, and I am surrounded by the Spirit and when I don’t know what to say, the Spirit is praying for me. It’s knowing that I am covered by the perfect, triune God. 

            The Gospel is God’s story, and since He reached me, it’s my story. It’s the story that runs through my veins and propels me to love and share this truth I know with the whole world.”

Friends, these are the words I wrote for a theology class assignment back when I was going through seminary, and they still ring true today. With my whole life I yearn to share this incredible love story to everyone near and far—here in my neighborhood and to the ends of the earth.

I pray that the richness, the height, the depth, and the width of the Gospel would continue to inspire, transform and propel you to share with all those around you. We are in this together. I pray that over the next few days you would ask yourself, “what is the Gospel to me?” Share it with a friend. Let’s talk about Jesus, all the time, everywhere. In our living rooms, front yards, grocery store lines, giving a warm meal to someone in need, and to the ends of the earth…This is the Gospel. 

For King & Kingdom

Audrey