I don't think we Americans realize how blessed we are to be able to hear the Gospel as freely as we do. We have every opportunity and device to hear, read, or watch the Word of God imaginable to man. Some of what we hear, read, or watch is not the Gospel. It's full of condemnation, rules, works, guilt, and trying to please a judgmental God. So we tune it out. We grow indifferent. We don't think God cares so why try to make Him happy. Our indifference has caused us to be callous to the actual Truth. We have hardened our heart to what we perceive to be an indifferent God.
We have made God in our image - unpredictable, judgmental, condemning, angry, uninvolved, uncompassionate, powerless, and distant. We see Him as too busy to get involved in our lives, too indifferent to care, and powerless to do anything about it.
Do you know what Gospel means? It means good news. If we're not hearing good news about God, we're not hearing the Gospel. What we're hearing is man's idea of making God in our image. We have it so backwards. God made man in His image.
God wanted someone He could fellowship with so He made man: a spirit-being like Himself but housed in a body. Sin entered when man believed the lie that he wasn't like God. True, we are not God in our humanness, but if we are born-again we are God in our spirit. Our time would be better spent understanding that we are made in God's image not making God in our image.
To be able to proclaim the Gospel is not only an honor and a privilege, but also a mandate, a responsibility, a commission from Jesus Christ. To proclaim the good news, to announce, to broadcast that God is a loving God, that Jesus died for the sins of the world to make peace between God and man, that God is not mad at us, should be our life mission if we are born-again.
Even news this good we can take for granted.
We think, "Oh, I've heard that. I've read books and seen TV shows and webcasts. I've listened to CDs, sermons, and podcasts. That's old stuff." But what if it was taken away?
No more Bibles, no more TV or radio shows, no more books or church services, no more webcasts or seminars or conferences. If we lived in a country where it was forbidden, would we miss it? Imagine for a minute what a totally godless world would be like. I can describe it in one word - hell. We must never take the Gospel for granted. Our relationship with God is something to be guarded, cherished, protected, and valued. God's desire for a relationship with man is something to be announced and proclaimed and broadcast to the world. Doing that must be our highest priority as it is God's - to complete Jesus' mission on this earth. Why should it be important to us? What difference does it make? Why should we get involved? We figure people are too busy living their lives to care. Why should I care what happens to others as long as I'm going to heaven? Let somebody else do it. The answers to these questions would pretty much define a man. But it's more important for us to define God, to understand Who He really is, not Who religion has made Him - a god made in man's image.
Why is telling people that God wants a relationship with them so important to Him?
Because He is love (I John 4:8&16) and in order for love to be expressed there has to be an object, a recipient. He expressed His love by sacrificing His own Son to pay the debt/penalty for sin. (John 3:16, I John 4:9,10). Because He wants our lives to be full of Who He is: joy, peace, power, healing, health, patience, wisdom, righteousness, justice, love, eternity, truth, mercy, compassion, generosity, prosperity, wholeness, etc. As He is, so are we in this world (I John 4:17). Because He desires all men to be saved and know the truth about Him (I Timothy 2:4).
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