For the past several years I have done a session on Camper Discipline for girl counselors at Camp Susque, but I got notes from people who have done it before me. One of the keys to discipline (making disciples) is meditating and sharing the Gospel. This verse reminded me of what I remind the girls about the Gospel.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.We want to reach more and more people with the Gospel. How do we do that? By giving thanks. How do we do that? By meditating on the Gospel. So what is this Gospel? It is the core of Christianity, and the foundation of our lives.
It says that God created a perfect world, but mankind decided that they knew better and disobeyed God. This broke the relationship between God and Man, God and Creation, and Man and Creation. But God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to restore all those relationships. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, rose again, and then ascended to Heaven from whence he sent the Holy Spirit to live in us.
It says that all humans are in a bad condition – in fact, we are dead because we are filled with sin, we are sinners; and sin deserves death. (Black Heart) But it also says that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, did not deserve death (White Heart), but willingly obeyed God and died in your place. And the gospel continues, he rose again, letting all who believe on him, rise from their sins and live holy lives before God – not holy as is perfect, but holy meaning that God does not see or keep record of you sin (White heart covers black heart).
It says that God loves us and wants us to be near him, but our sin won’t let us get close to him. So Jesus came to bridge the gap between God and us.
There are a million different ways of saying it. And the more ways we think about how we can say it, the more we are meditating on it. We can use different analogies. We can find pictures and stories that say it in some way. We can use our personal experiences and testimonies to help us understand it better. We can play games about how everyday issues or items points to Jesus. And in meditating on it, we will naturally share it. It is what we are thinking about, so it is what we will talk about.
When we focus on the Gospel, it is hard to think about complaining and comparing. In fact, it is hard not to be filled with thanksgiving, which in turn points back to the Gospel. So we are filled with thanksgiving for the Gospel, so we tell others. Then they are filled with thanksgiving and share it with more people who become filled with thanksgiving, so they share the Gospel, and so on.
I find myself only talking about God when I am having “devotions” with my sons, or correcting them for something. What about you? When do you talk about God?
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