In his outstanding book, “The Rest of the Gospel,” Dan Stone speaks about the other half of the gospel that Christians often forget or are not aware of. Yes, it is absolutely true and wonderful that Jesus died so that our sins would be paid for and that we would have a clear passage to heaven, to live forever with Him in endless beauty and perfection. I am counting the days until I get to see Him face to face and ask Him all the questions I was dying to get answers to and see my Mom and baby again, and have no more pain or tears. That’s really exciting. But there’s another whole part of the gospel that some Christians leave out. The part where we get to live amazing lives here on planet earth, despite the challenges of a fallen world. The whole peace in the midst of the storm and joy unspeakable idea, that make no sense but He gives to those who really believe in Him and uses the irresistible inner glow of one tanked up on His Spirit to pull the unbelieving ashore. It is not a virtue to just tolerate life, to merely bide our time here until we enter the great beyond. No! I know so many who are desperately counting the days until Jesus gets back, paralyzed by their trials and wallowing in pessimism and fear. They cannot imagine that He could be alive and well and working in and through us on a daily basis in real and tangible ways. God has so much more in store for us, and if we are not living magnificently, we’re getting ripped off (and ripping others off who need Him but don’t know it).
Are you getting ripped off? If so, pray now for Jesus to give you a fresh revelation of the truth of the Abundant Life.
