Here's another Gospel tidbit that you will need to communicate to people. You'll need to be sure that they understand that there is a problem. Now, you're probably thinking that people already know that life has its problems. And, in fact, some of them tell you about those problems more than you care to hear at times. Yes, that's true, but even at this point the Christian's understanding of the problem is dramatically different. While people will agree with you that there's a problem, most of them are thinking something like, 'Life has problems, but there isn't anything to be done about it'. For them, the problems of life are just that: the problems of life. To expect anything different is to expect too much. This is just the way things are. Deal with it. But they are wrong. It's not supposed to be this way. The problems of life are these oddities. We were created for something much better. But something has entered the picture to make a mess of things, and quite a mess. And believe it or not, to say something like this can give someone hope. Life can be better.
And that lies near the heart of the Gospel: life can be better. There have been plenty who have twisted that up and promised heaven on earth. That's another of Satan's lies. And yet, it's still true: life can be better, starting in the here and now, and completely so later. In communicating we are not to minimize the evil of the present. And that is especially true when it comes to those who have had an especially hard life. But we can tell everyone that life can be better. Jesus has come.