The Gospel?

I’ve been wondering about the Gospel a lot lately. I could probably rattle off the standard Christian response to the question, “What is the gospel?” But honestly, that answer isn’t all that compelling to me.

I think it has to do with hearing the words so many times they've lost their impact. I’m sure some people could talk about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and the subsequent forgiveness of sins, with strangers in coffee shops and be completely genuine - I can’t. If I did it I would feel like a total poser or a JW/Mormon.

Its not that I don’t care about the gospel or that the gospel isn’t about crucifixion, resurrection, and forgiveness, its that that isn’t the important part of it to me. For me, the gospel of God is Jesus. Not just his death, or resurrection, or the forgiveness that comes along with it, but all the rest of the stuff. The gospel was alive, preaching and being preached, and changing people’s lives before those other things officially happened. Those other things were the natural result of the gospel, the gospel being Jesus as the revelation of God and his action throughout time. The good news of God is that Jesus is God. Jesus is walking around saying, “He is me and I am Him; you like me I like you, do the math. Now get ready, because stuffs about to go down!”

I think I’m a fan of that presentation of the gospel. I may even be able to tell a stranger about it without having to check for a BYU diploma on my wall.