Dear Friends,
As we finish our series, considering life in a world filled with outrage, let us give the last word to Ed Stetzer:
We are living in an age of outrage. The world is not as it should be, and it is clear that we are in a unique season of antagonism toward the principles that make the gospel the “Good News”. Worse yet, we contribute to this outrage by sometimes responding poorly to the world around us. But all is not lost. In fact, there is incredible hope for the Christian. Jesus calls us to join our lives with him, follow his lead, repent of our failures, and respond to outrage with radical grace,winsome love, generous compassion, and prayerful hearts that break with the brokenness of the world.
And here is the gospel truth: We were once under God’s wrath. In fact, the only response from a perfect and holy God was outrage to our sin and sinfulness. But God did not leave us. He drew near to us. He engaged us and saved us by sending Jesus to become the very outrage we could not overcome. Jesus took the full and unmeasured wrath of God so that, through faith, we can now have the peace that passes all understanding. While we were still enemies of God, Jesus reconciled us to himself, offering peace and forgiveness. We are now not simply forgiven but welcomed back into God’s family. He adopts us as his children and gives us an inheritance with his obedient Son. As if that were not enough, we are now invited to join Jesus in his mission to bring others back to himself and to set everything right again. He gives us divine jobs as ambassadors of his reconciliation, and he sends his Spirit to empower us to live as missionaries of grace and neighbours who neighbour. And this is just the beginning!
This is the Good News that changes us from outraged spectators to grace-filled participants in God’s redemptive plan for the world. If we honestly and truthfully believe this, it changes everything.
In Christ,
Nigel