I’ve been thinking about the “Good News” that Jesus proclaimed. What is it? What makes this news so good to a world in need?
The Good News is the news that my past and my present are not just forgiven, but are made new again – as if it never happened. I am not who I was.
The Good News is the news that what I am going through is not the end of the story. God has the final word – not a diagnosis, a hurtful comment, an abuse, a label, or a broken relationship.
The Good News is that there truly is hope, even when I don’t feel like there is much.
The Good News is the news that God is invading the broken places of my life and beginning the process of making me whole again. He has not only “saved me.” He is also “saving me.”
The Good News is the news that God sees and knows.
The Good News is the news that He cares enough to act.
The Good News is the news that God is restoring and reconciling all things, including all things in heaven and on earth.
The Good News is the news that, in Jesus, heaven has begun to crash into earth.
The Good News is the news that I am invited to be a part of God’s restoration movement, to partner with Him in making all things new again.
The Good News is the news that someday I will see Him face-to-face: My Creator, my Sustainer, my Breath and my Life.
I don’t know about you, but that’s good news to me!
I've been reading "the vine" by Andrew Murray which is based on John 15 and the metaphor of our true life resembling the branch- Jesus as the vine and the gardener is God. My true life, the one I was created for, is completely interdependent and designed to bear fruit. One of the main themes I'm picking up is that since my true life is actually what I was created for, it's not foreign. I may be out of the interdependent mode or habit so the retraining, the rethinking, the discipline of my mind may take some time and effort, but the goal is like coming home again. There is something familiar and comfortable and peaceful about the abiding life. That is good news to me. It's not weird or hard or unnatural. It's actually what my spirit, mind, and body crave and function the best in.
This morning we heard that God's promise to Abraham in Gen 12:3 involves being blessed to be a blessing which is the same as being in the vine to bear fruit. Our true life is not just about being in the vine. That's great and essential but the goal is to be a blessing, to bear fruit. It's awesome that God did not come to Abraham with a short intro and a list of commands but rather a promise. And it's the ultimate win-win: live life the way God designed it and it will spill over to those around me. That is good news. Thank you, Father! I want to always be a fruitful branch, connected and growing
