What's Good About the Good News
This weekend at Denver Community Church we asked the question, “What’s so good about the good news?” We concluded our time of teaching by responding to this question.
Some people asked for this in writing, so here it is. What follows was written by me and contains words and thoughts inspired by several authors and theologians. Here is the response:
What’s good is that God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, inaugurated the renewal and redemption of this world.
What’s good is that God in the person of Jesus reflected his radical availability to all people to find unlimited hope, healing, grace, love, and mercy.
What’s good is that God, through Jesus has offered humanity a way to be rescued from their sinfulness, brokenness, pain, guilt, and shame.
What’s good is that God has given us a way to live more fully – more fully as humans and more fully as men and women who bear his image.
What’s good is that the work God began through Jesus to repair this broken world, he is continuing through his Church – his embodiment in this world.
What’s good is that God has chosen to use us – broken, messed up, hurting people like you and me – to put flesh and blood on his Gospel.
What’s good is that everything we do matters to God. Everything we say. All we create. The mouths we feed. The sick for whom we care. The imprisoned we visit. The children we nurture. The spouse you love. The friend with whom you weep and rejoice. The kindness you offer to a stranger. It all matters, and not just for now … because everything you do for God matters for eternity.
What’s good is that God is renewing you, he’s renewing me, he’s redeeming this world … and the story is not over.
What’s good is that we do not just know this story, but we are part of it … we are called to live as the hands and feet of Jesus in our world. Serving a God who wastes nothing – not even your biggest mistakes – a God who loves you just as you are and way too much to let you stay that way.
What’s good is you can stop trying so hard – and cry out to the God who is love – who bit by bit is putting it all back together.