THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

2 Corinthians 11:3

There’s this story of a brother in the church who spent the church money he was entrusted with in the hopes he could return it later. But unfortunately, when the church needed the 500 000, he had nothing to give. So, weighed down by the disgrace of the situation, he stopped attending church and refused to answer his pastor’s calls.

One day, he ran into his pastor at the bus stop, and just as he was trying to hide his face and wishing the ground would swallow him, his pastor told him he had been calling to let him know the debt had been written off, and he felt led to give him five million naira.

In a scenario such as this, we can only imagine what is going through this brother’s mind at this time. We might even have a lot of questions and debates regarding the matter. Should someone who betrayed the church be rewarded in this way? Is it the pastor that should have made amends and even paid his debt for him? How are we sure he has even learned his lesson? What if he misuses the money?

All these questions are valid and have their place. But do we realise this is a small depiction of what Jesus did for us on the cross when He took on our sins, paid the price, and made redemption available through His blood? We were just like Bro. Kayode, with so much outstanding debt, we even sometimes mock Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross by our lives and the love He shows us. We do not even understand what we have done to deserve it. And, yet, and consistently, He loves us. And invariably, He opens His arms to us.

What Jesus did on the cross to secure our salvation is the most beautiful and most enormous sacrifice, and yet the requirement to enter into this rest is so simple and straightforward that it sometimes makes no sense. We expect to be punished for wrongdoing, we hope to be rejected after we have betrayed trust, and we expect to be shunned and laughed at because of our failures and flaws. But instead, Jesus opens Himself to us again and again.

I enjoin us not to take the simplicity of the cross for granted. Don’t run away from Him because you cannot understand how He forgives you so simply. Yes, it’s that simple – accept it. But do not treat this gift like a toy because it’s offered in a simple package. Honour the cross. Never lose your wonder for it; when you share it with others, ensure you let them see the simplicity of the gospel.

Prayer

1. Lord, thank you so much for this precious gift you have given me.
2. Lord, help me never to hide away from you because I couldn’t accept the simplicity of your gospel due to my guilt. Open my heart to understand your unending love.
3. Lord, give me the grace to present the gospel in its simple form without adding what’s not supposed to be there.

This is our message for today, and we hope you were blessed. We’d also love to hear from you; please comment below.

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Have a blessed day!