Does the Gospel Matter?
When I talk about the gospel, I’m talking about the good news Jesus announced: that life in God’s kingdom is now available, right here and right now, to anyone who trusts him (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15).
What do you think? Does that good news - that human beings can live their actual lives now in a new reality, not just have their sins forgiven - really matter to our day-to-day lives?
As I’m coming to see it, the answer is yes! It matters profoundly. And in ways that continue to surprise me.
Here are a few implications I’m discovering. This is not an exhaustive list, but an invitation for you to consider how you might answer the question for yourself.
1. It matters to How We See
Life in God’s kingdom gives us a new way of seeing God, people, our identity, our work, and the world we’re actually living in. It’s the proverbial “new set of glasses.”
To borrow from C.S. Lewis, it’s like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia. Suddenly we glimpse a deeper reality, a fuller truth about who we are, where we are, and what’s really going on in our world.
2. It matters to How We Lead
Jesus said that leadership looks different in the kingdom. Functions differently. It serves the greater good. It advances the mission of God on the earth. It lifts rather than dominates others.
What many today call servant leadership traces directly back to Jesus - how he lived, how he loved, and how he led within the kingdom.
3. It matters to What We Build
The central ethic of the kingdom is love. Love for God and love for people, expressed in the way Jesus loved.
To love, according to St Thomas Aquinas, is to will the good of the loved. That means:
• Building organizations that serve a purpose higher than profit
• Creating cultures that are life-giving not soul-killing - in our companies as well as our families
• Shaping policies and environments that work for the well-being of as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible
So how do we live more fully in God’s kingdom?
How do we arrange our lives so we’re participating in Jesus’ ongoing work and being formed by him to extend his festival of goodwill in the world?
The short answer, as Dallas Willard puts it, is apprenticeship. We apprentice ourselves to Jesus, learning from him how he would live our life if he were us.
How does that actually happen? Through intentional engagement with the practices the Spirit uses to train our hearts, minds, and bodies to walk more fully and faithfully with Jesus.
Want to explore this further?
If you’re curious about this perspective on the gospel Jesus preached, here are a few resources from Dallas Willard that have shaped me:
The Divine Conspiracy
The Divine Conspiracy, Continued
The Scandal of the Kingdom
Want to talk more about living, leading, and working within the kingdom of the heavens? Hit the Contact button below to schedule a call.
