The Gospel for Every PersonSample

Imagine for a moment that a child came up to you and asked you to describe what it was like to love someone. Now imagine that you had never felt love toward anyone or anything. Even without experiencing love yourself, you would likely be able to articulate some sort of description of love from what you have heard from others, read in books, studied in scientific journals, or seen in movies. Yet all who have loved before know that a second-hand, scientific description of love would be cold, formulaic, and void of any true meaning. A better response would come from a person who has loved in the past, who can recall the feelings and describe the experience. However, the most meaningful answer would come from someone who has not only journeyed with someone in a loving relationship but continues to do so passionately.

The same is true when it comes to the good news of Jesus Christ. Before we can truly appreciate the significance of the gospel for every person, we first need to have a personal revelation for what the gospel means for us. If our hearts are cold and unmoved by the reality of the gospel, we cannot expect to warm those we find around us with the message, let alone set them ablaze in passion.

So perhaps a good question to ask and articulate for yourself is: Why is the news about Jesus, good news for you?

The first four books of the New Testament are described as the four gospels. Each book gives a specific account of the life of Jesus. The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all share striking similarities, especially regarding the person and work of Jesus. However, each gospel account is also unique and distinguishable from the others because each author provides us with a unique expression of the good news from their perspective. We see that the unchanging story of Jesus intersects with their own unique stories to provide us with their personal gospel accounts.

The same is true for you. The news about Jesus is good news for you. Jesus' story intersects with your story—not just of your past, but your present story as well as your future story.

There is good news for you right now. Can you perceive it?

Application

In today's readings, we will explore a handful of the promises associated with the good news of Jesus. As you read through each promise, ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your heart and ignite in you a fresh passion and a personal revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Take some time to think through why the story of Jesus is good news for you.