Blog # 66 SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS

Blog # 66 SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS GOD. What did you think of that first paragraph? God. It almost looks like a typographical error, just three letters sitting there all alone. Yet what you and I think of God is the key to what we will think of the meaning and value value of the life of Jesus, and of the Church, of ourselves, and the world around us. That first paragraph turns out to be a large one! The task of the Christian today as always is to reveal the name of God so clearly that others might discover its meaning, to do the work of God so well that others might have hope, and to love God so thoroughly that others might approach God as a friend. But today that task is somewhat different from what it was even a relatively short time ago. When I was a boy I was told by those whom I trusted and loved, my parents and teachers, that God was more lovable, more precious, more valuable than anyone or anything else. But all He had to compete with at that time was what I could find within walking distance of Eighty Seventh Avenue in New York City. Years ago in Chicago I was talking to a youth of sixteen and he told me he could go up to two hundred miles on his Honda for an investment of two dollars and a half. God for him, had to come out on top of a whole lot more than He did for me when I was a boy! In the light of this, we who represent God as believing Christians can take two different stances. We could threaten and warn our youth to get off their Hondas for fear they will discover something better than the image of God we have given them, or, we could ask them questions like: "What have you discovered of value and worth up to two hundred miles away?" Then we take their testimony as to what they have found and measure it against our notion and experience of God to discover whether we ourelves have experientially identified God as more valuable. Only then we can go to the modern world with the confidence we have witnessed in Jesus and only then will the Scripture text which speaks of the beauty of the feet of those who bring the Good News be fulfilled in us. ( Isaiah 52 : 7).