I want to continue addressing the reality that Jesus DID make it all about you when he gave his very life for you. And that we need to accept this transformative truth, otherwise we are missing the heart of the gospel.
However, I can hear the arguments that arise in people’s minds. I’ve grown up in the church world, studied the Bible in the church world, and am now a pastor in the church world. I get it… But I feel called to address some incorrect thinking when it comes to the gospel.
Remember the term gospel literally means “good news.” It was more than just a teaching or an invitation. It was an announcement of something that happened. An event that took place that forever changed the world… The death and resurrection of Jesus.
Here’s another quote from N.T. Wright about the gospel: “This wasn’t a theory. It was and is a general truth, but the only reason for believing it is that it actually happened. In history, ‘The son of God, ‘ wrote Paul in one of his earliest letters, ‘loved me and gave himself for me’ (Galatians 2:20). There are a thousand ways of explaining what exactly that meant; that’s for another time. For now we need to know simply this. Jesus of Nazareth went to his death believing that this would be the ultimate good-news moment.” (Simply Good News, 44)
So if Jesus loves me and gave himself for me and this whole thing is simply good news, well what about taking up my cross and following Jesus? Am I just ignoring and skipping over the harder teachings of Scripture?
Let’s talk about the teachings of Jesus and how they related to the disciples. Jesus taught a lot of things throughout the four gospels. Ultimately though, every single person failed at following Jesus. None of them were able to truly “pick up their cross and follow him.”
Check this out:
“Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, ‘for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’” (Matthew 26:31)
“Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.” (Matthew 26:56)
Sounds to me like they stopped following him. They failed at picking up their cross and following Jesus. But we all would have done the same in their shoes. And Jesus wasn’t surprised by any of this. This was all according to the plan to show us that we are completely powerless apart from Jesus’ Spirit within us.
After the disciples failed at picking up their cross and following him, they went back to their day-jobs as fishermen (John 21:1-3). They accepted that they weren’t good enough and that Jesus had died and this whole thing had come to a sad end.
And here’s the most amazing thing! Even in their failure, their rejection of Jesus, their inability to pick up their cross and follow him, Jesus STILL made it about them! He STILL sought them and met them in their failure and loss. He showed up on the beach and made breakfast for them, calling them back to him and his purpose for them (John 21).
Can you imagine just how special they had to feel? The Messiah, even after failing him, STILL came to them, knowing them personally and by name, spoke to them about still following him.
It reminds me of what parenting is like. Any decent mom and dad does their best to give their child their full attention. They never stop loving them, helping them, caring for them, and teaching and correcting them. In a very simple sense, parenting is all about the CHILD! It takes selflessness from the parent and it can be hard work!
When the child makes mistakes, the parent keeps showing up to help them and teach them. And even as that child gets older and learns more and becomes an adult, a good parent will NEVER stop loving their child. And a great mom or dad’s love will NEVER change. It is truly unconditional. There is certainly a desire and a passion and labor for the child’s growth and progress, but the love underneath it all is always the same.
And how much more is it with Jesus? That he will never stop making it all about you! The Father, Son, and Spirit will always live to be your parent who loves you and is always there for you.
And let me clarify one more time: I am not in support of some lazy and selfish Christianity. I truly believe that when you accept just how much the risen Jesus loves YOU that it motivates you to do so much amazing stuff! Look at the apostle Paul for example. He probably personalized the gospel of Jesus more than anybody! “Christ loved ME and gave himself for ME” he wrote (Galatians 2:20). And in that personal love he found, he recognized that every single human being was created for it too (2 Corinthians 5:14, Colossians 1:28)!
This motivated him to travel to many nations, to go sleepless nights, endure shipwrecks and imprisonments, care for the poor, and still have joy in the face of persecution! It starts with a personal revelation of Jesus’ love for you and then yes, it becomes clear that Jesus is the Lord and Lover of ALL!
David personalized God like nobody before him. “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me” (Psalms 18:19). He believed God personally delighted in him and that was the foundation of a life of great exploits.
Even myself, I live my life each day aware that God’s attention is entirely mine! He’s always loving me, talking to me, enjoying me, calling me! That’s a lot of me! But knowing how loved I am, how much he takes great pleasure and delight in me, I feel empowered! I take care of a wife and a house! I do dishes, fold laundry, I take care of foster babies and hundreds of kids at church! I write books, raps, articles! I do podcasts, social media posts, and constantly call and visit friends to encourage them! I don’t have it all figured out, but I know Jesus loves ME and it bears so much fruit!
It’s in the love Jesus has for me that I am empowered to pick up my cross, deny myself, and follow Him. In other words, when I discover how loved I am, I very naturally forget about myself and focus on Him and others.
It’s hard to not be amazed at how much God loves you on a day to day basis. I love this quote from Brother Lawrence about his experience of God: “The King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures; He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence” (The Practice of the Presence of God, 37).
God is obsessed with me!
And he is obsessed with you!
I encourage you to be aware of God’s overwhelming, undeniable, and loving presence wherever you are today.
I want to finish this series next month talking about true obedience. I know there are still some doubts about what I’m saying. But I have expected those. These articles are a calculated risk. I hope that individuals who read these know just how much Jesus has made it about them. I mean, what can be more “It’s All About You” than literally giving your life for somebody? That’s what Jesus did.
And my prayer is that this reality of the ABUNDANCE of God’s love for YOU leads to a life of the amazing and beautiful fruit of the Spirit flowing through you! More on that next month…