The last several years. I have become involved with a number of international students. The local university hosts several hundred students each year. Some come to get their under graduate degree. some come to get a graduate degree. Some are professors, who are taking advantage of a different set of resources for research.
Some of these don't connect with people of the host country. They only associate with others from their own country, language, and culture.
Other get involved with all sorts of social interaction. They get to know local people. They travel, engage in local culture, including holiday observances. (This year, I had a Thanksgiving dinner with 55 people. Only ten were American.)
And some get involved with genuine followers of Jesus. They might attend a church service. They might attend a Bible study. They might have some sort of spiritual discussion.
So, the question is this: How do you explain the gospel to someone, who has never read the Bible, never attending a Sunday service, has had no exposure to Jesus, but wonders what Christianity is all about?
Or another way to ask the question: What is the essential, most basic explanation of the gospel?
It seems to me there are two parts. The first part: believing that -- let's call it -- the Bible narrative is true.
God created the world perfect. He created people perfect. He designed the world, and the people, to be one, giant family, with himself as the ideal Father of everyone. He intended to be close to, talk to, encourage, and develop each person.
The first people grew to question God's goodness, and chose to act in a way that was apart form, and against, god. And the world broke. And people broke. And the relationship between God and man broke.
Death entered into the world, both spiritual and physical. All that was true, good, and beautiful was tied to man's connection to God. Remnants of these things remained, but they did not match what was.
But God did not give up his plan, and purpose, for the world, and mankind. He developed, and put into effect another plan to deal with the rebellion of the world, reconnect God and man, and rebuild his one, giant family.
The separation between God and men was infinite. The brokenness was total. Only someone infinite could become a bridge over the separation. Only someone all-wise, and all-powerful could put all the pieces together.
And because men were the rebels, and were broken, mankind needed to take responsibility before God.
And, as only God is infinite, all-wise, and all-powerful, only he could span the infinite separation. So, he merged the infinite with mankind, and became a man. Infinite to span the separation. A man to represent the entire, broken, rebellious race.
He chose suffering, and death, to satisfy god's justice. He chose resurrection to proclaim that the infinite separation had been bridged, death and brokenness had been healed, and he gave his eternal presence, so that a new family would be made, and a complete connection could be maintained.
The second part: to give allegiance to Father, Son and Spirit.
Allegiance is part choosing to move to a position of trust, dependence, and rest as God's child.
And it is part choosing surrender, and submission, to what God commands. God's child chooses to align him\her self with God's word, God's purposes, and God's relationship. It is loyalty of the highest order.
It involves submission, obedience, agreement, and alignment with God's word.
It is shown with the adoption of God's value, a pursuit of relationship with the Father, love and service to God's family, and all others.
Plus a realization that life, wholeness, and meaning all flow from the relationship that results from this allegiance. God's family, as expressions of love and service, seek the adoption into God's family of all those he chose to die for. Which include: friends, enemies, those in the other party, the other race, a different sexual orientation, different religions, and your every day, garden variety creep.
I sure people could come up with other ways of expressing this. Even some that have not been invented yet. There are different understandings of wrong, value, what gives meaning, and what a good life is.
In the west, people have a greater understanding of guilt, and justification. In the east, people tend to look at life through the lenses of shame, and honor. Perhaps, one reason God chose Israel, and put them where he did, was so he could give understanding of both concepts, and they could be included in his revelation.
Some people have a vivid picture of how evil they have lived. Some people (especially young children) may not recognize their imperfections as well.
Regardless of cultural understanding, or moral awareness, there is a Creator God, who designed the world to live in relationship to him. All meaning, value, and truth flow from him. All life is built to be connected, and to flow with him. And I need to recognize who he is, his position in the universe, and my relationship to him. I need to see that I may be moving with the current of his word, and purposes, or I may be moving against them. No matter which is true, I need to determine once for all (and to determine daily) to move into God's current, to move with the current, and choose to stay there. It is the first, and best, place to be.
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