LIFE LESSON: The gospel is not about what God can do for me

WHAT RELIGION TAUGHT ME

The Gospel of Christ is about me and what God can do for me

WHAT FAITH IS TEACHING ME

God has put into action a plan to unite heaven and earth since the day Adam and Eve disobeyed him in the Garden of Eden, but before that happens God has a mission on the earth to reconcile with humanity so that they could share his inheritance with his Son Jesus Christ.

This reconciliation is only possible through unity with his Son Jesus Christ, it is a free gift to humanity that cannot be earned and it is available to all of God’s people.

To accept the gift individuals must confess with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is the Lord - this act qualifies them to be called children of God and it books them a spot in heaven to share God’s inheritance with Jesus Christ.

As a show of appreciation of the free gift the children of God align themselves with God’s mission to reconcile with humanity by surrendering their lives as a living sacrifice for God 

Living sacrifice

When the children of God have surrendered their lives as a living sacrifice God begins a process that enables him to work through them to achieve his mission of reconciling with humanity. The purpose is to rebuild an individual according to God’s original design

The rebuild process happens in the following 3 stages (as demonstrated by Jesus Christ on the cross)

• Persecution 

• Burial

• Resurrection

Persecution

The purpose of this stage is to break an individual down to make them weak because God’s power in them is made efficient in their weakness. 

How God allows the person to be persecuted differs from one person to the next depending on God’s purpose for the individual's life.

The opportunity to give consent to be made a living sacrifice for God’s purpose comes when the individuals in their pursuit of God’s will encounter persecution through suffering/trials/tests.

Burial

The process of burying  and planting looks the same but the purpose is different. This stage from the human point of view looks like it is a burial but from God’s point of view this is a planting stage where God plants his children in fertile soil so he can rebuild them in obscurity for his purpose.

Resurrection - reversal of the natural order

This is the reveal stage of the rebuild where God reverses the persecution and uses it to showcase his glory through the individual so that many others are influenced to reconcile with him.

CONCLUSION

Therefore contrary to popular belief the story of the gospel of Christ is not about me or what God can do for me but  it is about God and what he can do through me.