The Good News

For the past few months, our church has been in a campus-wide teaching series tracing God’s one story from Genesis to Revelation. We have been discovering how God is weaving together His great plan of making all things right in Jesus. What an amazing time in our church body to share God’s plan from the youngest to the eldest. As I help lead the high school twelfth grade girls, it has been faith-building listening to their perspectives of God’s plan and what that looks like for them in real time in our current world. They are being stretched to learn how God has made His Word relevant for their lives. This past week, our study brought us out of the Old Testament to the New, discovering Jesus: Son of Man and Son of God. The girls were challenged to assess what they have heard about Jesus vs. what the Bible shows to be true. Discovering more about who He claimed to be. And digging more into understanding God’s brilliant design of sending an example that we could see, touch, hear and live with. A master plan to give us what He knew sinful man would need–a connector between the divine and humanity. This verse in Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT) shows His love for us:

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, He gave up his divine privileges, He took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form,

He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

It has been encouraging seeing and hearing the excitement on campus for the study. There is a real sense that people are interested in knowing God’s Word more deeply. They want to know Jesus & His significance. They want to put that knowledge into practice sharing how their lives have been changed. We can be rooted in Jesus, knowing He is the Son of God who came to proclaim good news. By claiming Jesus is our Lord and living out His words to the world around us, we substantiate the truth of His message. This equips us to want to reach all people with God’s love.

The love of Christ controls us, because we know that One died for all, so all have died.

Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He

died for them and was raised from the dead so that they would live for him

(2 Corinthians 5:14-15, NCV).

Finally, this study has sparked a personal enthusiasm for knowing Jesus more. Over thirty years ago, I made a radical decision to follow Christ and have never looked back. Living for Him has been the joy of my life. But there is more to learn and more to give! Living life has a way of crowding into our faith space. It can be a struggle sometimes to effectively live for Christ. I believe we must daily seek Jesus who showed us how to live humanly and divinely. Through the power of the Spirit we can do greater things.

I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12 NLT).