A Kaleidoscope of Gospel Beauty
Mark’s gospel introduces us to the “the gospel” in the very first sentence, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”, or to put it in a more expanded way : “The start of the good news of Jesus the divine rescuing King”. Later in verse 14 “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Events we usually connect with the “The Gospel” –the cross, the resurrection – are conspicuously absent. Instead, Jesus’ gospel is simply: 1) the time is fulfilled and, 2) the kingdom of God has arrived. The obvious response is to trust that this is true and to turn (repent) and follow the King by living under God’s good rule.
When in comes to beholding the beauty of God “in the face of Jesus”, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the pivot point of a much larger story. The New Testament is replete with references to Jesus’s ministry (including his death and resurrection) as the fulfillment of the Hebrew scriptures (Luke 24:25-27). His coming inaugurated God’s rule on Earth:
the overthrow of rebellious spiritual rulers ,
the rescue of a humanity that had be enslaved to sin and death,
the unification of Jews and Gentiles into one people empowered to live in perfect fellowship with God
as the result of God’s initiative, not man’s ability.
Now, all who are in Christ are part of a renewed humanity, living lives of others-focused, self-giving love just as our Divine King has done. It is a beautiful, magnificent story, with a divinely given, Holy Spirit empowered calling! And it effects everything we do, think and say.
As we grow in our capacity to grasp the immense love of God for us displayed in Christ, and the “beyond-our-wildest-imagination” privilege we have as dearly loved children of God, we see in vivid colors the beautiful vision of the good news: God’s divinely-appointed King has established God’s Kingdom and we can all live in it — right now.
This new way of seeing begins to influence every part of our lives–how we learn, how we play, how we spend our money and resources, how we prioritize our time. Every aspect of life becomes open to the good rule of King Jesus. Living out a gospel-saturated life is what commends the beautiful vision of a deeply loving, merciful Creator, a self-giving rescuing Savior, and an ever-present teaching, guiding, helping and comforting Holy Spirit. We have been given everything we need to live in the new Kingdom and to lives of joy in the face of difficulties and hope in the face of suffering. Our worth and value are unshakable because we are hidden inside the perfection of Jesus.
As Paul put it , the more excellent way, is to commend a massive and breathtaking beautiful vision of life in the Kingdom of the Beloved Son. To paraphrase a well-known chorus, when you consistently show the beauty in the face of Christ, “the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
How has your grasp of the cosmic story of God’s love for you revealed in scripture, in Jesus and in your own life, grown over time?
In Ephesians 3:14-21, Paul prays for the Ephesians to have supernatural power by the Holy Spirit to grow in their comprehension of God’s love so that they may filled with the “fullness of God”, in order to live like He lives. Take time to pray for yourself this way. God’s love is so massive, you can’t understand it without His help.
What areas of your life has the gospel yet to permeate? Pick one and invite the Lord to show you how that arena can become and outpost of God’s Kingdom.