What makes the Gospel good?

Gospel: good news. But what makes the gospel good? I mean, if the gospel is that we are sinners and God is angry with us, and we have to live our lives a certain way or we are being disobedient, then I have to say that at first glance that doesn’t sound very good at all. What makes it good?

Even if we add that Jesus died for us, is that really good? I’m not sure I want someone else’s blood on my head, that puts me in remarkable debt doesn’t it?

I suppose if what I am seeking is independence, then this gospel is nothing but bad news to me isn’t it? If I want to be entirely my own man, and make all my own choices, and bear the consequences of them all, then this gospel will smell like death to me. If on the other hand, independence is not my ultimate test of good, but instead I value relationship, then the gospel appears to me transformed.

If I’m not afraid of being in relationship, and arranging my life to bring joy to another, then the reality that I am a sinner remains terrible, but the news that someone has died to heal that is wonderful. Further, if my life isn’t all about me, then ordering my life for someone else’s joy is no longer a hateful thing, but a delightful thing.

The question then of whether the gospel is good, really turns upon your initial orientation: if your orientation is self-centred, then the gospel opposes you. If your orientation is other-centred, then the gospel is not only good, it is life itself.

Before we find fault with God's plans, it sometimes helps to see our own hearts.