I love this old joke – “What’s green and has wheels? Grass, I’m just kidding about the wheels.” We tend to complicate the Gospel and add things God never put in it. The Good News is partly the good news because it’s so readily available to everyone. One of the things I enjoy most about God’s Kingdom is how easy it is to become a citizen. As the old evangelist use to say – there is a one question quiz, asked by God: “What do you believe about my Son?” No deep theological answer is necessary. Oh, there is plenty of deep theology and mystery to God and His Kingdom but understanding all of it in order to enter is not necessary. God invites the naive and the confused to come on in. He tells us that if we speak it and believe it, we will receive it (eternal life). Children understand it, but we can tend to complicate it for ourselves and others. The beauty of the Gospel is seen in the simplicity of the first Christmas – a baby in a manger. Therein lies the basic truth of the story. Today, in the spirit of the first Christmas, let’s receive and share the Good News in the simplicity with which God offers it.
“…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” Romans 10:9 NASB
