Joy H. Books is all about a well-told story, and the Gospel is the best story that exists. Not only is it beautiful (and true!), but God wrote it, and He’s the best Author there is.
The Gospel means “good news” and is the story of how God made a way for all people to know Him and be saved from eternity without Him. In the beginning was God, and He has existed since forever past and will always exist. He is perfect and holy and infinitely loving, and He is also Triune. This is a fancy word that tries to describe the amazing nature of God; it means that He is one but exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity is fully God and also fully distinct. Read more about the Trinity here.
In the beginning of the world, God created the earth and the animals and people, and He made us “in His image” which means that we are different than other creatures. We get to have a special relationship with God and live with Him. The first two people that God made were Adam and Eve and they lived in a perfect garden called Eden. They loved spending time with God and walking with Him in the garden, and there was no sin or anything bad. God made everything, and it was all very good!
One day, however, Adam and Eve decided to go against God and rebel, doing things their own way. With their rebellion against their Heavenly Father came sin into the world. Now there was death and disease and brokenness. Most sadly, Adam and Eve’s relationship with God was broken. They were guilty and ashamed and could not go to God on their own because they were–like all of us–a rebellious people. Their hearts were dirty and couldn’t come before a clean God.
God, however, loved people and prepared a way for us to know Him. God the Son, Jesus Christ, went to earth as a human. He was fully God and fully human, and He lived on earth for 30 years, telling people about God’s love and calling people to return to their Heavenly Father. And then, Jesus died on a cross in place of our sins. We all deserved a just sentence of death, like criminals who are guilty or like outcasts who have shamed themselves. Because Jesus is perfect, He paid for all our guilt and absorbed all of our shame.
He died on the cross–but the story isn’t over yet.
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death and proclaiming the new life that all people who believe in Him have. For everyone who turns from their rebellion and trusts in His death as the only way back to God, our relationship with God is healed.
Because God the Father counts Jesus’s actions as ours, we are redeemed (brought back into God’s family)! Even when we die on earth, we get to spend eternity with God in Heaven. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. He transforms our lives to be more and more like the people that love Jesus personally and follow Him.
God is amazing! He is the Author of the greatest story ever told. Through Jesus, we have hope and a restored relationship with our Heavenly Father. This is so good, let’s go tell others about it! Before Jesus went back to Heaven once he rose from the dead, He told his friends and followers to share this story with everyone.
Praise be to God, for His great love for us!
If you have decided to follow Jesus, some ways you can grow in your relationship with Him is by going to a church with other believers, reading the Bible, and talking to Christian friends and ministry leaders, like a pastor.
Want to learn more about the Gospel or how to be a Christian? Here are some helpful links below!
https://www.cru.org/us/en/blog/help-others-grow/discipleship/helping-new-believers.html
Joy H. Books 