Gospel

What is the Gospel?

Everytime I tell it to myself or someone else, I feel like I'm missing one crucial element.

Today, that just happened to be the fact that "...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

I went over the fact that creation made us in God's image, as part of God's glory. The fall gave us disobedience, gave us pride - and we could no longer be valued by God, we could no longer bask in His glory because we were impure. We sunk, we had to look to other places for the value that He had given us. But of course there was nothing that could redeem us... at least until Christ became the way, the truth, and the life by coming from heaven to earth, giving up everything and dying for us: while we were still sinners. So we are redeemed and are able to experience God's grace and love, to be valued by nothing but the Lord that created us. Thus, we begin to restore the world, with Christ at our side.

I told my friend this, leaving out the fact that it happened while we were still sinners. He asked me one question: "What if I am fine with just being valued by people?"

I never thought about that. Partly because I didn't need to, because I learned how futile it was trying to do things to please society... but in another sense because I never had an answer to that question. I think that in one time or another, a person will have an experience where they realize that no matter what they do, they cannot please people, or get people to genuinely love them. But in that same way, no matter what we do, we cannot change God's love and grace for us - it's unconditional.

My friend asked me whether humans are wholly selfish. I answered, "Yes."

...

I think I was wrong.

If a bus came charging towards a 4-year-old boy, and a person stepped in front of it to save him, that wouldn't be selfish. We do have a capacity for selfless works, it's just that we don't do them normally. But what makes the difference?

We probably wouldn't step in front of a bus for a convicted felon. I don't know, would you?

Jesus would, Jesus did.