Thursday 15 January 2015

Creativity not tragedy



What is the gospel? Is it simply an evacuation plan, how to enter Heaven and avoid Hell? Where should we get our understanding of the gospel from, only the New Testament? What if insight could be gained if we stepped right back to the very beginning?

Genesis 1:1-2 says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Now I deliberately pause here before the announcement of light and the rest of creation. What do we have here? We have raw material and raw energy waiting to be formed and shaped and used for something good. This is where the Bible starts, with creativity, not tragedy. With possibility!
This is where the Bible begins, with possibility, with hope, a place where heaven and earth are in harmony and creativity is waiting to burst forth.

I believe that many followers of Christ have lost hope and become disheartened because they have never been presented with the wide angle view of the gospel and all they were left with was an evacuation plan gospel that had nothing to say about life here, now, today. It is my understanding that people tell stories they are captivated by, moved by, inspired by. When something gets under your skin it naturally spills out of you. I believe it’s time to wake up and see that we are standing on holy ground, that each moment counts, that people need you to be your true self.

The gospel is good news and we need to recapture that. I think we need to probe deep into our hearts and ask the tough questions and get to the bottom of why the gospel doesn’t bring us joy. I believe many have no joy from the gospel because they are afraid of the God behind it all. They are trying so hard to get everything lined up that there is no time for joy, or they just stuff it down and get on with their lives like everyone else.

Many think of sharing the gospel as telling someone that if they aren’t right with Jesus they will die and go to hell, I say the gospel is far more than that, the gospel is good news, so at its core it is about connection and communication. Our whole life should be gospel, every kind word matters, every thoughtful act counts, it’s all gospel. It's about taking the plunge into a new world Jesus invites us into, it’s about trusting that He is good, it’s about coming to life, and coming to terms with our life in every aspect owning our story and knowing that our story is woven into His story and can help others if we are open.

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