One of the things that has recently crossed my mind is how do I respond to the good news that Christ gave His life for me?  He died in my place.  Not only does he take my sin away but gives me the power of the Holy Spirit.  What is my response to this great God who loved me?  It is love.  It is the spirit-empowered ability to love God and love people whom he created in His image.  The gospel’s core is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son (John 3:16).  This was not a love for the world because the people of the world loved God.  This was a love in the midst of man’s rebellion and rejection of this Holy God. My response to this great magnificent love that God has for me is a great and magnificent love for God and for his creation.  My heart hurts when I see people living outside of a gospel-centered view and in their own self-centered world because they cannot see the world in the way in which God sees it.  In their world they see how many people have wronged them and what they are deserving of, and yet through a gospel-centered lens the people who have wronged me look a lot more like me, someone in need of good-news and God’s saving grace.  And in this way we see people who we can love rather than hate.  It is a different perspective on life when you can say it is not about me.  What freedom we have in Christ that is all about the glory of God.  We are no longer shackled by the chains of bitterness and self-satisfaction but rather set free to live a life worthy of our calling in Christ.  Open up the door to a life that lives in the grace of God.

The response of the gospel is love.  Love for God and love for the pinnacle of His creation, people.  While we can be people who live out the great commission and making disciples of the nations, what we are saying is that we love people enough to share this life changing message of Christ with them to find the love that God has for them.  Respond to the good news today by loving this great God and loving someone who may not even love you back.