Written by Bob Schindler, Executive Director of CEDE Partners – an Initiative of CEDE Sports
In the last seven days, our world has changed significantly
As I’ve talked to people during this time, particularly sports ministers, I hear words like disruptive or unprecedented. But most often the word I hear is – SURREAL.
We are having a difficult time wrapping our minds and emotions around all that is going on. “Can this really be happening?” is a common question, spoken or internalized.
In the midst of this turmoil, we can either tend to maximize or minimize what is happening. (In fact, it might be good for you to think about which of these you tend to do in times like this.) In that light, I am trying to be realistic, trying to avoid either of these two tendencies.
“Getting a Grip”
I would like to call that realistic position “getting a grip” on the situation. For followers of Christ, “getting a grip” has a very specific application. Paul speaks to this idea in two passages.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul says –
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.“
According to Paul, the first key to “getting a grip” on the situation is to get an eternal perspective. It is to look at the unseen, the eternal, not on the seen, the temporal.
But what does it mean to look at the unseen, the eternal?
We can make a list of some things we know to be eternal:
- God
- His Son
- His Spirit
- His Word
- His kingdom
- His people
To look at what is unseen or eternal is to look at these things. It is to ask God to give us eyes to see what we can’t see apart from his grace.
It Always Comes Back To The Gospel
To develop further this idea, I would suggest a summation of all these things – THE GOSPEL. This GOSPEL is THE STORY God has been writing since the beginning of time.
To develop further this idea, I would suggest a summation of all these things – THE GOSPEL. This GOSPEL is THE STORY God has been writing since the beginning of time.
- He is the Author of the Story of the Gospel
- His Word is the Declaration of the Story of the Gospel.
- His Son is the Hero of the Story of the Gospel
- His Spirit is the Energy of the Story of the Gospel
- His Kingdom is the current Advancement of the Story of the Gospel
- His people are His Fellow-workers in that Advancement of the Story of the Gospel
Paul is saying, to keep from losing heart, we need to see or fix our eyes on THE GOSPEL. To do so enables us to get the right perspective, to get a grip on the situation. This is the first key.
Paul outlines the second key in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.“
Here Paul is talking to his fellow believers, those to whom he preached the gospel and those who have taken their stand, built their lives, on the gospel. To these he says he wants to remind them of this gospel.
Why would he need to remind these followers of Christ of the gospel if they had already received it and built their lives on it?
Because they are like us. We all have a tendency to let the gospel slip from our grasp. And that tendency has a great cost.
God’s Intent For The Gospel
Paul makes clear that God intends the gospel to have a present effect in our lives. When Paul says ‘by which (this gospel) we are being saved’ he is not just referring to the past penalty of our sin. He is also referring to the present power of our sin.
God intends the gospel to save us from the temptation in these times to wallow in discouragement, to get paralyzed by fear, to be consumed with worry, to get frustrated or angry, to be selfish or irresponsible, to hoard and judge, and ….you add to the list of all the other challenges we face in these times. The way God intends that saving to take place is through the gospel.
However, that saving isn’t automatic. Paul goes on to say – “if you hold fast to the word I preached to you.” For us to experience the saving power of the gospel, we need to stay gripped to the gospel. To lose our grip on the gospel is to lose the present value of the gospel in saving us from the power of sin. This is the cost of letting the gospel slip from our grasp. Instead of being saved, we are enslaved.
The Rope and The Rock
I have done some rock climbing over the years. One thing you learn through rock climbing is that the rope is important to hang on to. The rope is your lifeline. It saves you. Losing your grasp of your rope can be perilous.
But you also learn that it really isn’t the rope that saves you. It is the rock the rope is tied to that actually saves you.
There is a great lesson here for us. Our Rock, Jesus, is the one who really saves us. What ties us to Jesus, our Rock, is the gospel, our rope. When we hold on to the gospel presently, we are saved presently, by our Rock, Jesus.
There are all kinds of forces today that are trying to loosen our grip on the gospel, to yank it out of our hands. Our challenge is to resist those forces in the power of God and stay gripped the gospel.
This is the second key to “getting a grip” in these times.
One of the best ways to do that is to follow the advice of author Jerry Bridges and “preach the gospel to yourself everyday.” Share it with your family, your friends, your fellow workers, your small group. Remind your fellow believers of the Story of the Gospel, the Author, the Hero, the Energy, the Advancement, and the Fellow-workers.
Pray
Pray for God to use these reminders to renew your minds to the truths of this great Story.
Pray for God to give you wisdom to see when the gospel is slipping from your grasp and the power to re-grip it.
This is my prayer for each of you in these challenging times – to “get a grip!!!”
