Hello
everyone! Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written one of these things. Hope
you enjoy…
When we
think of news we usually like to measure it by saying things like ‘this is
really good news’, ’this is terrible news’, etc. Now, if we usually like to
measure our news how do we do that? I believe we measure news by the level of
impact that the news has had on our lives. We can measure the news on a ‘good
& bad’ scale but we can also measure it on a ‘small & large’ scale.
An Example:
One of my
best friends & ministry partner is having his first child soon. So let’s
measure this news: This is my friend and his wife’s first child, the child was
planned and attempted for, so when they found out that they were pregnant they
automatically knew that this news on the ‘good & bad’ scale came out as ‘good’.
So, now let’s look at the ‘small & large’ scale. This news really impacts
my friend and his wife’s life; everything for them will be different after
having their first child (free time, sleep, money, etc.). So that means that
this news effects my friend and his wife on a rather large level, so when
describing their news we would use (positive) words like ‘terrific’ ‘great’ ‘awesome’
and so on.
But! Let’s
look at another aspect; how much does this news impact those around them? Well,
as a friend and ministry partner my life is/will be pretty impacted by this;
possibly less time of ministry together, less free time to hang out, etc. So,
the goodness and the greatness of this news seems to grow as it impacts more
and more people, but this news is only so great. This news has very little
impact on my housemates lives and even smaller impact on my family across the
sea in America.
So where am
I going with all of this? Here it goes: News
is determined by the level of positive or negative impact is has on a
person(s).
In my life
as a Christian (started at 17) I learned very early that the word ‘gospel’
means ‘good news’ in the original language. So, my challenge/question to you is;
How good is your news? We know that the size and power of news is determined by
it’s impact on our (and the people around us) lives. So what is level of ‘good
& bad’ and ‘small & large’ of the gospel in your life? Is Jesus’ good
news just something that makes you stop swearing but you still have rage in
your heart or is Jesus’ good news something that’s so big it goes past the
action and goes into the root (motive) of the action? Also, is this news just
going inwards and just changing your life or is this news drastically impacting
everyone that you know/are connected to?
I believe
the good news of Christ to be the greatest news ever. Why? Not only has this
news of salvation and forgiveness in Jesus’ cross been told (actively by Christians,
missionaries, pastors, etc.) for almost 2000 years but this news also has the
power to come into every area of your life and change you to be more like Jesus
and it also has the power to impact everyone you meet in positive ways.
Don’t let this news be small and bad but
instead let it be large and good.
