A relevant gospel

I’ve had a number of career changes in my life, from auto mechanic to missionary, from renting RVs to building spec homes. I was recently elected to the local town council, which adds spice to my present career as a freelance writer. But I am 46, and it is getting too late to make too many more career changes.

I don’t know about you, but I always get caught off guard when age starts catching up with me. Even though I play in a “contemporary” worship band, I still find it hard to keep up with the music of my teenage daughters.

Cultural change is relentless, and staying relevant isn’t just a problem at home. Whole countries struggle with it. In spite of the fact that our early forefathers came from mainly Protestant and Catholic backgrounds, Canada still struggles with things like public prayer and deciding what to call those brightly decorated green trees during the month of December. This underscores the reality of how hard it is to be culturally relevant while remaining true to our heritage.

Let’s bring this home to the church. How do we keep the Good News of Jesus relevant without losing its reverence? We do that by realizing that the value of the gift is not in the wrapping, but with what’s inside the box.

There was no one more true to His heritage than the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Jesus was also one of the most controversial figures in religious history, often going against the religious customs of His day. He allowed His disciples to gather grain on the Sabbath. He talked with a Samaritan woman. He didn’t bother with the ceremonial washings. He decided healing blind men was more important than avoiding controversy.

Jesus ate and drank with the “unclean”, much to the consternation of the “pure and holy”, but He did it because it was the sick who needed the Physician. It was the outcasts who needed to find a way home to their heavenly Father. Jesus made His rich heritage relevant to the lost culture in which He lived because they needed it, needed it badly, and they would never have found it any other way.

Can we do any less? Examine closely what it is that makes you a child of God. Remember that it is God’s grace that saves you, and not the habits you’ve taken on.

So how do you share that with your neighbour? Must they learn the old songs (or the new ones for that matter)? Must they adopt a dress code, replace a bunch of habits, or learn not to sleep in on Sunday mornings? Or do they need to discover that the oldest love story in history has unbelievable relevance to every facet of their daily lives? The gospel is not four walls and a pew, but the deep love of God for every broken life on this earth.

I remember a professor in Bible school making the following statement: “God’s Word is alive; our job is not to kill it.” So when someone asks, “What is it you do?”, maybe you could add this to your career list: My job is to “keep the gospel relevant”.

Rick Cogbill lives in Summerland, B.C.