A reminder

I was moved by this post from Devin the other day and have been mulling over it ever since. Maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else out there feel the need to be reminded daily that they need the Gospel? I need to be reminded of the essence of the Gospel and that I need it just as much as someone who is far away from God.

What is the Gospel anyway? I sometimes forget that, simply put, it is the good news that Jesus took my place, paid my debt, set me free and gave his life for me when I was of no use to him (Read here). I know that it is foolish to forget this central truth to my faith, but it’s so easy to slip back into the self-sufficient thinking that keeps us from God’s grace.

Why do I need the Gospel? Duh! Do I really have to answer that question? Anyone that knows me at all knows that I need the Gospel (I’d say the same thing about you). I mess up, fall short, get angry, am inadequate, sin, ignore God’s voice, disobey… the list could go on, but I’m feeling guilty and need to stop. But that’s why I need the Gospel. I could never save myself. I need someone to rescue me from myself. I need rescue from my selfish way of living. I need rescue from my temper. I need rescue from my “thoughts of grandeur” that elevate my ideas and my way over the ideas and ways of my creator.

Not only do I need the Gospel, but the Gospel is what people need. The problem is that most of them just don’t know they need it yet. Maybe one of the reasons why they don’t think they need it is because those of us who’ve experienced it don’t act like we need it either. I don’t want to live that way… I can’t live that way.

This post isn’t some lame attempt beat myself up and say “Woe is me.” What it is, however, is a reminder to me, and to whoever else out there is reading this thing, that we need the Gospel. Of all the times of the year to be reminded of this, (other than Easter) Christmas is the time. Jesus came to rescue us, because we needed to be rescued. We didn’t deserve rescue, but He came anyway.

This is really the reason why we moved to Spartanburg to plant a church. I want to be a part of a church that shares, lives out and needs the Gospel. Imagine being a part of a community like that! I just needed a reminder. Maybe you did too.