After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Most people — inside and outside the established church — would answer this question one way. Jesus answered it another.
This version has nothing to do with manmade hoops to jump through, but it does reduce the good news to a mental assent to a list of beliefs — so that when you die, you can go to heaven. It is about a destination. It leaves this life largely untouched.
Jesus says, “The good news of God is that the time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe this good news.” It is about a present reality — the rule and reign of God, here and now, through the person of Christ.
The gospel is not first and foremost about us. It is “of God.” The good news is not something we consume so that we secure a new life of eternal bliss and ease. It is about the present reality, through the person of Christ, that the kingdom — the rule and reign of God — is here, now.
Examine our entire way of doing life. This is to think again, to give a second thought, to determine if we are living in God's story.
This is not a mere mental assent. Rather it is to place our confidence by acting and living as if we trust that the good news is true — trusting in Christ as the one who can restore us and reclaim us into this new kingdom life.
Jesus invites us into the kingdom of God — a different life. Eternal life which is not spatial (beyond the stars somewhere) nor is it chronological (out there waiting for us when we die). It begins now.
We are invited to join in and participate with God, through Christ, in an unfolding story. Entering into this story involves our whole lives. Every part of us is changed through the good news.
The good news (gospel) also compels us to live outwardly on mission. This good news is not for us to hoard but for us to share through our lives, our conversations, and through the everyday living of a faithful — yet forgiven — community of followers of Jesus.
So the gospel changes everything. Therefore, we are centered on the gospel, surrounded in community, sent on mission.
Main thoughts written by Todd Hunter, with some adaptation by Todd Harrington.
“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”Mark 1:15
If you would like to talk through any of this with a person rather than a page, we would count it a privilege. There is no pressure and no script.
