Is The Gospel Relevant?

  I have been reminded as I am studying this week that we have (or at least I do)  a tendency to take what Christ did for us for granted.  We hear all the time about how much God loves us and what Jesus went through on the cross, and yet I wonder sometimes if we really understand what that means. 

Or if we really think the Gospel is relevant.

Now I know that this could get into a huge theological discussion about what the Gospel or Good news is really all about, but I am talking about the practical application of what Christ did.

Looking at the sacrifice that he made, the suffering he went through, the abandonment he must have felt, all the while knowing that there would be people and whole people groups and nations that would turn their backs and in a sense spit on the cross and what he went through.  

Those are the very people he died for.  That is the great thing about The Gospel.  He died for the guy that you know that is as far from God as you can get.  That is what it is all about.  Giving that guy access to forgiveness, healing and a right relationship with God.  

That is where I find comfort and hope knowing that I used to be that guy.  Completely separated from God and all the while The Gospel was calling me and drawing me closer to him.

It is in that moment, when I look at what Christ did for me that I see my love for him.  Where I begin to really appreciate the love he has for me.  When I focus on his sacrifice I become free.  It has nothing to do with what I have done or how much I can love him, but has everything to do with how much he has done, and how much he has loved me.

That is what makes it so easy to lay down my life and what I want to do and pick up the cross and fulfill what he wants me to do.

So, is the Gospel Relevant?  Now more than ever. 

But I think that is the wrong question.  I think we should ask:

"How have I made the Gospel Relevant to those around me?"  

That is a life long journey for me and I pray that I get become less and less and he becomes more and more.  

That is where people find Relevance in what Christ has done.  In you and me!