We Cannot Walk Alone

"In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone."

A message worth watching:

Gospel?

I had these thoughts this morning (really more like questions):

What is the Gospel (or "good news") that we are supposed to be proclaiming to others (and to the whole world)? Is it the message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? It is the message of Christmas and Easter? Is it the message that if you believe in these things about him then you will go to heaven when you die? Is it that we are sinners doomed for hell unless we recognize our sin, repent and make Jesus our "personal Lord and savior"?

As I scanned through several Scripture passages that refer to "the Gospel" or the "good news", I noticed that many of the references to these words appeared before Jesus' death and resurrection. For example, Jesus said, "...whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35).

So, is the answer to the Gospel message found in the questions above?

Or is the message of the Gospel simply that God loves people so much that He sent His Son to show us what He is like?

God seems to have been much more impersonal before Jesus came to earth. But, through Jesus' life and his message we see God loving women caught in adultery, we see God touching a leper with His own hands, we see God having dinner with tax collectors and sinners and spending time in their houses, we see God telling rich people to sell all they have to follow Him, we see God caring for children, loving the poor and oppressed, we see God challenging the religious establishment.

Maybe this is the Gospel?

Jesus said, as recorded in Luke 17:21, "...the Kingdom of God is in your midst".

If the Kingdom of God is Jesus coming to earth to show us what God is like.... I have to ask my self, is the Kingdom of God in my midst? Today?

Photo by Leah Craver

People In Order

Psalm 90:12
"Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

To Be Continued...

It was the late 1970's. Fonzie, out of fear that he was losing his cool, was attempting to jump 14 garbage cans in the parking lot of Al's Diner with his motorcycle. As he was just about to attempt the jump, I quickly glanced up at the clock and saw that it was about 8:29pm.

The questions plagued my mind, "Is he going to make it? Is he going to die? Is he going to marry Pinky Tuscadero? How are we going to know if 'The Fonz' is able to make the jump in the next minute?"

Then, suddenly the words "To Be Continued" stood in distinct white letters on a black screen.

What do you mean "to be continued"? I need to know what happens to Fonzie now! I can't wait until next Tuesday night!

Sometimes life feels like one big "to be continued" TV episode. I feel like I have to wait until the next installment or the next chapter to find out what is going to happen.

I thought of those old "To Be Continued" episodes this morning. And in some strange way I believe God was speaking to me.

While the tendency is to make a list of all the things I am going to do better in 2008... and to set goals on what I am going to change, I feel like today is a day that says, "life is... to be continued".

And I believe God wants me to be a whole lot less anxious as I wait to see how things turn out.