Overcomplicated

When I started blogging I had good intentions of writing regularly. My goal was to write at least one post a week. I thought that was good way to start, regular but not too ambitious. I got off to a great start with a couple of introductory posts and following those up quickly. Then, as you can see, I wrote nothing for over a month.

It’s not that I haven’t been writing anything. I have a few unfinished posts that I’ve started working on. It’s just that as I’ve attempted writing I’ve found it difficult to finish those posts or feel good about posting them.

As I thought about what I was writing. I came to the conclusion that I’m overcomplicating my blog. While I think some of my unfinished posts were generally good ideas they’re maybe just a little too complex. As a result I’ve had trouble finishing them in a way that allows me to feel like I’ve adequately handled the topic I was writing about.

All of this got me thinking of other things I make more complicated than they should be, the biggest thing being the gospel.

When you get down to it I think the gospel is a simple message. That’s something that many people, including myself, tend to miss. We find a lot of ways to make it more complex than it needs to be. We get caught up in thinking about what we need to “do” to earn the gospel, even if we intellectually know it’s free. Or we worry about having gospel conversations the right way and as a result we just don’t talk about it.

But the gospel is simple. When we get that we will discover that we really can live it everyday and also that it’s not a difficult message to share.

Here’s a few ways Paul simple explained the gospel:

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4,5

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Obviously there is more to learn and understand as we grow in the gospel. These passages are contained in larger context as Paul deals with problems or explains the gospel more deeply. But it all starts with the core message of the good news about Jesus. If we get that, we get the gospel.

What are some ways you need to simplify the gospel in your life?

Mark Wicks. "Cube." June 2011. Greeley, CO.