The Gospel. For Real Life.

My covenant group is reading "The Gospel for Real Life" by Jerry Bridges, and while reading it, I have wanted to write about several different trains of thought but haven't gotten around to it. So now I'm wondering whether I should go back to my first thought and start there or try to fit them all into one post, ha. Shorter posts are better, right? Right.

The gospel. At some point this past spring going through Tim Keller's Galatians study with my covenant group at Perimeter, I was struck with the realization that I actually don't know the gospel that well. Yes, I know that I am a sinner separated eternally from God, that Jesus died on the cross to pay the inescapable penalty for my sins so that I might be reconciled to God and be clothed in His righteousness and be given eternal life in His kingdom. I know these things. I know this good news--this amazing news. And yet, on a day in and day out level, I don't. I don't realize how the gospel affects me the moment I wake up in the morning. Or what role it plays in how I interact with my family and friends. I can give you the right answers for these things, how it should affect me and the role it should play, but when I really look at my life and the reality of where my heart and mind are, I can only honestly say, "I don't really get it."

So it is such a sweet gift that God has brought me from raising this question--Do I really know the gospel?--in my last covenant group to this study in my new covenant group where we are getting to really sink into the gospel, understanding it in new ways and meditating on its role in every aspect of our lives.

You've probably heard the exhortation, "Preach the gospel to yourself everyday." (I think this quote comes from Jerry Bridges, but surely the idea has been around for a much longer time...) This is so important, but it is hard to follow if you do not have an understanding of the depths of the gospel and how it applies to "real life."

I remember one thing that struck me during the Galatians study was how applying the gospel to your life is a very active, effortful process. That no, our efforts do not earn us God's approval and delight but it does take effort to acknowledge and recognize and remember that God's approval and delight is ours because of Christ's life and death on our behalf and to live in light of that truth. This is what the disciplines are for; they're not for perfecting ourselves or making ourselves acceptable in God's sight. They are for keeping our hearts and minds in a position of knowing and claiming and rejoicing in the truth of the gospel, which we are so wont to forget. May we never stop dwelling in, meditating upon, and learning the good news of the Kingdom of God and the Savior King who reigns forever!