“No matter how serious or awful your sin is, God’s grace extends to cover it.” ~ Zach Zehender
The contemporary Christian band “MercyMe” has a song titled “Best News Ever.” The band refers to the meaning of the word Gospel, which derives from the Anglo-Saxon Godspell (“good story”). The Greek word “euangelion” means “a reward for bringing of good news” or the “good news” itself.¹ MercyMe put a fresh new twist on this phrase with their hit song by singing, “It’s not just good news; it’s the best news ever.” There is no doubt that boys in the band got this one right; the fight has already been one.
The “good news” proclaimed by the early Christians was not meant to be only information but a call to action. When proclaiming the Gospel, the hearer of the “good news” responds with action. Either the receiver of the “good news” repents from their broken ways (sin nature) and surrenders their life over to God or rejects the “good news” and continues living under the power of sin.
The “good news” is ultimately the “best news ever” because, without this truth, humankind is without hope. We cannot save ourselves from the power and bondage of our fatally flawed nature. We must have God’s help, and the “best news ever” is that God saves the day through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Regardless of where one may think they rank on the scale of good vs. evil, none of us by our fallen nature are good. Humankind as a whole is self-centered to the extreme, with the constant thought of only ourselves. We desire only to obtain power and more stuff, whatever more represents for our lives. As self-centered creatures since birth, we are polished when it comes to rationalization and justification for how we choose to live for ourselves while living under the delusion that we can gain satisfaction in this world if we can control all the active participants in our lives.
Where ever you are in life, if you are not following God’s design for living, you are living for yourself. Sure, you may muster a good deed here and there, but the reality is you are only concerned for yourself and those you love. The only way to love the way God loves and intends for humankind to love is to repent from our self-centered way of living and turn our will and lives over to the care, custody, and control of God. Through the process of sanctification (spiritual maturity), we become like the One who created us. The more we become like our Creator, the better our lives become, my friends; this is why it’s the “best news ever.” If you choose to repent and believe the Gospel, then the best news ever is that your life is about to get a whole lot better.
Lord, thank You for using others to proclaim the “good news” to myself and the rest of the world. Please grant me the courage to embrace Your good news to experience the best news ever, which comes when my heart is divorced from myself and married to Your Majesty. In Your Spirit and Name, I pray these things. May Your will and not mine be done now and forever. Amen.
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