Power Lines (Photo credit: shaundon)

What is the power of the Gospel of Jesus?  How does it manifest itself among men?  What is its target?  And how do we know we have entered into the envelope of salvation?

The power of the Gospel is that The Sacrifice necessary to gain The Holy Father’s smile has been paid.  We are now free to live our own interpretation of the “Good Live”.  We who believe have gained a confidence to live that others cannot own.  Not only eternity is promised, but guidance and protection is extended from the only One who can give it without reservation.  So the power of the Gospel of Jesus is a powerful peace, confidence, freedom, and hope that cannot be taken away by anything.  It is God who gives it.  Who can strike His Kingdom and rip away what we have?

The manifestation of this Gospel among men is a violent love.  It does not care what others think about what we do.  Those who love as God loves are not bound by the laws of men.  Social norms of men are but a shadow of a tree in the darkness of night, while the norms of God’s rule are like blazing explosions of good in the streets of the city of blind wickedness.

God’s good works among His people cannot be hidden.  But they are never announced with pride.  The Gospel does not announce itself to men, as if to say, “I am about to do a good thing.”  The good work begins and comes to completion; power displayed and unrestrainable.  Do the clouds announce that the sun is about to rise?  Doesn’t the sun simply come up every morning?  While men will praise their light bulbs, they also complain that the sun is too hot, that there are too many clouds, or that it came up too early.  But the Gospel moves forward despite the desires of men.

This is the target of the Gospel:  That God should receive all praise for what has been established.  Men will contrive many means to manipulate what He has ordained should be.  They will build houses to shield themselves from the elements.  Men curse the night.  They curse the day.  They curse the cold and heat.  But the elements are established by God.  And it is praise that is due what He has caused to be.  Many other elements of life here in this place of testing are cursed by man.  But it is those who trust Him completely that find release from this cursing. They learn to accept what comes upon them without murmur.  This is the target of the Gospel of Jesus: that His people should learn to live with God as their leader, no longer listening to their complaining desires.

This is how we know we have entered into the envelope of salvation; that we no longer perceive our life as a victim.  Through belief in the message of hope we are transformed from hopeless men to partakers in God’s lovely scheme of transformation.  We endure without complaint.  And when we find our hearts complaining we also hear a restraining voice within, compelling us to reconsider our attitude.

Violent love attacks all sin in the heart of the believer of the Gospel.  As if someone were to step in front of our folly and push it back, while pulling us forward to trust at the same time.  Refinement of thought toward what is good grows.  Restraining of stupidity holds us back from the things that lead to death.  And, in the end, the believer of the Gospel of Christ grows from a walking dead fool to a semblance of a righteous man.  We know we are His as we witness this occur in our very bones.  It does not announce its presence.  And there is no written word that appears on our forehead, marking us as those who are being transformed.  Yet the transformation will be obvious; first to the believer, then to all who know who we were.