Dear Trekker,
June is busting out all over the hills and meadows here in Germany. This Colorado boy loves the greenery. When we return to the good ’ole USA in a few months, we will miss Germany… but, my heartbeat, the core of the good news, is that “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The good news knows no geographical boundaries on planet earth, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”, which literally means, “good news”. I was made for this!
But what is, precisely, the Gospel? I am reminded of a verse I learned years ago: “You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day, by the deeds you do and the words you say. Men read what you write, distorted or true; now tell me, what is the Gospel according to you?” I love this little poem, because translation of the Gospel into life is pretty much a God directed, human responsibility.
One of the premier youth organizations of which I am closely associated has adopted what it calls, “three story evangelism”, or good news from three different perspectives… God’s, mine and yours! Obviously the most important story is God’s, He is Creator, Sustainer, God-in-the-flesh-Man, Savior, Lover, Pursuer, Friend, etc. Anything that is permanent, lasting and good, God is. There are not enough adjectives or names in one’s vocabulary to ever describe Him adequately. But we each one want to talk about him – “our story” – when we are in love with Him, because we always want to talk about the person or thing with which we are in love! (I chuckle to myself… for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to talk about Jesus, my life companion Barbara, and our kids (and grandkids) in that order! And for some ungodly reason, I really have a tough time with those folks who always want to talk about the environment, for example. Are they in love with the environment… or simply prophets of doom and gloom; that is another newsletter some day.) Then there is “your story”. What is or is not happening in your life as you respond (or fail to) to God’s story? And God’s love story is no more succinctly summarized than John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him, might not perish, but have eternal life.” Such a verse showing up in placards at sporting events, billboards, etc. is bound to be trivialized and may escape being included in “my story” or “your story”, but it is true nevertheless, and is the essence of God’s story. Candidly put, Jesus alone is the story.
Interestingly, in the post-modern world, many who “get it” are recognizing the need to be good story tellers. We are no longer effective if allowed to ‘just give me the facts”, as Sergeant Friday used to say on Dragnet (you that are old enough to remember). It should be no coincidence that two of Christianity’s most fertile minds of the 20th century are very popular and effective story tellers, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. They interacted in a small Oxford group, called the Inklings, translating each of their stories into prose and poetry, partly out of frustration in not finding certainty in science or Scripture. In fact, Tolkien’s influence on Lewis to leave his atheism and become a convert to Christ was facilitated by his (Tolkien’s) belief that God’s story for men, not its valid historic and scientific detail, is what leads one to belief in Christ. He convinced Lewis that if he (Lewis) could believe in his fanciful imagination in story form, he could then believe as well in the stories Jesus told. Jesus was, after all, the master story teller. Tolkien and Lewis simply follow in His steps. And as the box office reveals today, people are mesmerized.
Jesus is forever the bearer in the flesh of God’s story. He did “write” the gospel by his deeds and the words he said! Jesus simply is the Gospel. He brought good news and an invitation for us to return to Him: “Repent (do an about face; stop going your ‘death’ way; follow me the Lifegiver) for the Kingdom of Heaven (the only real Kingdom that has eternal life and hope and happiness) has arrived!” (An amplification of Matthew’s story, Chapter 4:17) Jesus demonstrated God’s forgiveness for human failings and doing life “my way”, gave hope for eternal life through the then unheard of resurrection of his body from death back again to life, and relentlessly invited (not coerced) all to follow Him. And all of this was neither in mathematical nor doctrinal equations. For those religious leaders of His day, the man Christ had little good to say: “white washed tombs”… “blind leading the blind”… “searchers of Scriptures who have ‘missed’ that it is all about me!” Jesus lived God’s story; He “was” the story; and He told His story in relevant parables so that common folk like you and me could understand. We should do no less.
Trekker, there is a lot of ferment today about what is preeminent in proclaiming the Gospel. Is it proclaimed best through “Four Spiritual Laws”? (The Pharisee’s certainly had more than four laws, so we are ‘making progress’.) Is it proclaimed best through a set procedure of doctrinal propositions? Maybe. I believe the Gospel is proclaimed best when we reveal God as a relentless lover (the prodigal son will always be one of the greatest stories ever told because it is really all about the Father’s love, not the son’s sins), not as a cruel, demanding law giver and taskmaster. Today, as 2000 years ago, Jesus offers a reserved place in the Kingdom of God to all who will “receive Him” (check John’s story, Chapter 1, vs. 10-13), follow Him (not self or self-serving creeds about Him), continue to love Him and love each other.
Expectations are simple and straightforward. Live and tell “His story”. Then “your story” is His story. Lovingly invite others into the family! Trekker, let’s become good story tellers. What are your parables, your metaphors, the deeds you do and the words you say? Storytelling will trump arguments every time. That’s why the Lord did it; that’s why we love a good story; that’s why we can be included in the greatest story ever told!
Telling the story,
Jim Meredith
