Gospel Optimism

I was thinking about my life recently after dealing with some issues. Along with that, I thought about the lives of the people around me. And some things came into focus. What a mess! We are people, all of us, who are plagued with issues. If it isn’t being guilty about something, then it’s feeling ashamed or being afraid. And then, there are all the other issues that confront us. I was thinking that it would make sense for someone taking an honest look at such things – something more than the typical superficial glance - to conclude that people just cannot be fixed. I mean, really. These aren’t problems that can be resolved with just a little this or that. Take a look at yourself, a serious look at yourself. Do you really think that you can fix what is wrong with your life? 

The Father has taken a look, a really good look, at your life. He sees all that you think and do and say. He knows how really messed up your life is. And yet, He is optimistic about change. He thinks that our lives can be changed. And the means that He will use to make this change? It’s the Gospel. It’s repenting of sin and believing the particular aspect of the Gospel that speaks to what you are dealing with. 

So, it makes sense for someone to be a pastor, a real pastor, one who deeply believes the Gospel himself. The prospect of real change in the lives of the saints that he has been entrusted with appears so slight. And yet, what does the Father say? ‘Preach the Gospel to them. Show them how it works in your own life. Help them to get it and then practice it themselves.’ This is the way to see many lives changed as they also, bit by bit, deeply believe the Gospel.