Gospel


LIFE

When considering the Christian gospel it is important to remember that you and I differ from the rest of creation in that we are two-part beings. We have a body, which relates to this world with physical life, and we have an undying soul which has an eternal destiny. The gospel relates to both these entities. Let us consider the body first.

How, then, does the gospel relate to our physical life lived here on this earth?
Most people would accept that the word "life" has two meanings. It can mean animation - the ability to exist and relate to our environment, the opposite of death. So we breathe air, we take in nourishment and we exist: we "live".


	But most would agree that it should be something more than that; something more than just existing. It should be an existence that is meaningful, that has a purpose. So when someone appears to have an existence with very narrow borders, an onlooker might sarcastically say, "Why don't you get a life?"

And the gospel invites us to do just that! It provides life: life with a meaning. The apostle John records Jesus as saying, "I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly", or "have it to the full." (John 10:10)

The Devil's lie, of course, is that the life of a Christian is a very restricted one, full of negatives. But on the contrary, the only things that Christians are encouraged to refrain from are things that would be harmful: harmful in a physical sense - but also to our eternal souls.

Indeed, Jesus declares that a full, satisfying, and complete life is found only when we turn it over to God to control and manage. He should know what is best for us, because he is the one who created us!
One of the saddest laments to come from the lips of Jesus is also recorded by John. He saw people scratching round what this world has to offer for something good, for something meaningful, and exclaims, "You refuse to come to me to have life!" (John 5:40)

An anonymous hymn-writer once wrote, telling of what life was like before becoming a Christian (putting it in modern English):

I cried for rest and happiness,

I yearned for them, not You;

But, while I passed my Saviour by,

His love for me was true.

I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,

But, ah, those waters failed

Even as I stooped to drink they fled,

And mocked me as I wailed.

The pleasures lost I sadly mourned,

But never wept for You,
Till grace my sightless eyes received,

Your loveliness to view.

See what that last line says? It is not too late to make those words your own. And then you too can say, and mean, what that hymn starts with:

O Christ, in You my soul has found

And found in You alone

The peace, the joy I sought so long,

The bliss till now unknown.

Now none but Christ can satisfy;

No other friend so true;
There's love and life and lasting joy,

Lord Jesus, found in you.


Yes, that is LIFE!

		*P.M.L. September2011*