The Lord: Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior has but few commands. His Gospel is not difficult to understand.
1.) Love God
2.) Love others as yourself ( even your enemies).
3.) Teach others to do the same.
4.) Repeat.
His Gospel is Simple but not Easy
Simple really, but not necessarily easy. It requires us to put God first, then others, then ourselves last of all ( the whole death to self thing). Twenty first century American culture, even our church culture, seems to have difficulty with that. Americans are self-reliant, free-willed etc., etc, etc, . Good luck with that. I was taught that and I’ve tried it. It eventually leads to a dead end, and perhaps, even some discipline from the Lord.
For those of you who have been following along on our trip through the Story of the Bible, you’ve seen example after example of how things work out when God is in charge, and when man tries to take charge. Those stories aren’t in there for filler. They are for our educational benefit. We don’t have to repeat their mistakes, even though sometimes we seem determined to do so. Read my post on the Futility of Kings here:
His Purpose and His Glory
Put God first, give Him the credit, the praise and the glory, reserve none for yourself. Ask Him for guidance and for His will to be done, then listen to the Holy Spirit that resides within you. Most importantly, and maybe the most difficult, do (obey) what He tells you. Before you start throwing rocks and hollering “ works, he’s preaching works”, understand that I know that there is nothing I can do for God. He doesn’t need me to accomplish his plans, but he does say that if I want to come along, I’m to pick up my cross and follow him. What does that look like? See steps 1 thru 4 above.
What is our Purpose in this?
We are here for God’s purpose and plan. The story isn’t about us and how much stuff we can accumulate in our short little earthly life span. This isn’t all there is, in fact this isn’t the all important existence that many of us seem to stress over. It’s a plan of redemption for all of creation and for God’s glory.
A story of a chosen people, chosen to be an example of how to live, and to draw the rest of the nations back to God. We’ve been adopted into this people by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ. We are to be that example now, not as a required “work”, but out of gratitude, and desire, to serve our redeemer.
Am I oversimplifying it? Perhaps. I’m no theologian, and I’m far from there yet, but with his grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I’m on the right path. My prayer is that we start to live the Gospel as well as preach it.
Humbly submitted in faith and love by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rex McMahon
The Sinner in the Mirror
