Gospel
I know it’s probably odd to see an item like “Gospel” on a softball web page, but I figured while you were here I might as well share a short version of the gospel with you. I know that many of you may be turned off due to so many “religions”/”churches” complicating things, but I can sure you this is pretty simple stuff if you just take the 2 minutes to read it.
The first thing I’d like to share is from the first book of the bible which is Genesis. Genesis Chapter 1 verse 26 reads “Let Us make man in our image, according to Our likeness …” While the world through marketing has corrupted our thoughts when we hear the words image/likeness and we immediately think of looks, I think it is obvious that we all don’t look alike so “looks” aren’t what is being talked about. It is referring to something much deeper than looks, the traits that you think of when you think of God. One of the traits is His “eternal” nature, you are created for eternity. There are tons of things that I could share regarding God’s “traits” but I said I would keep it short so I’ll jump right to what I think may be the most important in regards to us … God’s desire to be in a relationship with us.
Many people have the view that God created us and that He just sits in heaven waiting for us to mess up so that He can point His finger at us. The truth about God is shared in Genesis Chapter 3 verse 8 which reads “They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden…” God didn’t create us and then avoid us, He actually roamed around the Garden of Eden along with Adam and Eve. He wanted to be in a relationship with them. The seperation in the relationship came when Adam and Eve sinned and it was due to their pulling away from God due to their shame. Nearly the entire bible is basically one long love story of how God continues to try and draw near to us, and asks for us to come near to Him. Christ dying on the cross for our sins is God’s ultimate act of love in that He died so that our relationship could be restored.
So why do I think that the desire to be in a relationship with us is so important? Because if God wants to be in a relationship with us so badly, and we are made in His likeness, then we obviously at the core of our being need to be in a relationship with God. Oh we try hard to deny it, to cover it up, to look to other things like sex, drugs, alchohol, shopping etc, but when the lights go out and we are alone … we all know that something is missing. We know that we are wired up for something greater than the temporary pleasures from whatever we turn to. That missing component is the relationship with God and nothing else will fill it, because that’s just “how we were made.”
I say “woo-hoo” if you are already in a relationship with God. If not I encourage you to think through what you’ve just read. If/when you get to the point where you realize “wow that sounds really simple and I realize now that I do want to be in a relationship with God” getting it restored is just as simple. Christ has already done all of the work for you. He died on the cross so that His blood could cleanse you from all of the things you’ve done and will do that would cause you to want to hide from God. All you need to do is accept it. Accept that you can’t “work your way” back into a relationship. Accept that you can’t “buy your way” back into a relationship. Accept that you can’t “do good deeds” your way back into a relationship. The only way to restore what you were created to be a part of, is to simply admit to God that you have sinned, that you have hidden from Him, and that you accept what Christ has done for you and want to have the relationship that you were created to be a part of fully restored.
So easy, yet so hard, I know. After you do that you need to go pick up 100 books that tell you how you now should live your life. Just kidding. The only thing you need to do after asking for forgiveness is to do the same thing you would do if you wanted to be in a relationship with anyone else … spend time with God. If you’ve invited God into your heart, now invite Him into your home, into your workplace, into your actions. As you do He will reveal more of Himself to you just as anyone else would that you begin spending time with.
If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to write to me.