I recently saw a guy driving a Lamborghini Huracan (Italian for hurricane) over the railroad tracks. That is a $240,000 car with a ground clearance of a little over 5 inches (135mm). I was holding my breath. This particular crossing is not smooth and is at an angle. That means those 5 inches of clearance get cut down very quickly. How does a guy get to the point that he drives a car so valuable like a common Camry?
You are probably thinking about some reasons right now. (Or you are thinking about how common the Camry really is.) The most obvious may be that he uses it all the time and forgets its value. With familiarity, what was once exotic and rare can become common place. We may be guilty of the same thing with our own possessions. My question for you is, “Have we done that with the Bible and, more specifically, the gospel?”
We just finished up with a gospel meeting. Whether you attended them all or just one, you heard a familiar story. If you are a member at Palm Beach Lakes or any congregation of the Lord’s body, you would know the gospel message that was preached. As I sat there listening, I wondered, “How do I keep a message, which is so important, valuable and unique, vibrant in my heart and soul? How do I listen to the message as though it were the first time? How do I maintain the conviction and fervor that was there when I came up out of the water?”
Here are some ideas. First, remember that the gospel is still at work in your life. 1 John 1:7 reads, “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This is a continual cleansing. The blood of Christ is still at work in my life today. As long as I walk in His ways and keep His precepts, the cleansing power of the gospel goes with me.
Second, you need to see that conviction and the light of understanding shine on the face of another. In teaching others about that gospel, we get to see the changes they make in the their lives as a result—there are few greater joys in life. We are but servants, you and I. The glory is not for us but for our Father. What we take away from those moments is the knowledge that God has used us for His good pleasure and that we have made an eternal difference in a person’s life (1 Cor. 3:4-8).
The next time your hear it, think about how important it is. May we never let the gospel be told or heard as though it were just a story among other stories or just a car among cars. It is the story, it is our hope, it is our salvation.