"As they passed the rows of houses they saw through the open doors that men were sweeping and dusting and washing dishes, while the women sat around in groups, gossiping and laughing.
"What has happened?" the Scarecrow asked a sad-looking man with a bushy beard, who wore an apron and was wheeling a baby-carriage along the sidewalk.
"Why, we've had a revolution, your Majesty -- as you ought to know very well," replied the man; "and since you went away the women have been running things to suit themselves. I'm glad you have decided to come back and restore order, for doing housework and minding the children is wearing out the strength of every man in the Emerald City."
"Hm!" said the Scarecrow, thoughtfully. "If it is such hard work as you say, how did the women manage it so easily?"
"I really do not know," replied the man, with a deep sigh. "Perhaps the women are made of cast-iron.""
- L. Frank Baum, "The Land of Oz"
Saturday, October 24, 2009
One fear we must put aside in our quest for greater gospel-centrality is that it will not preach week to week. The enemy and our own flesh will test our commitment with the "plausible argument" (Col. 2:4) that the gospel will just sound so one-note. We are tempted to think the repetition will have the unintended effect of boring people or making the gospel appear routine and commonplace.
But the gospel is resilient. It is miraculously versatile. It proves itself every day for those awake to it. Because it is the antidote for all sin of all people, power effectual for every type of person no matter their background or circumstance, it is God's might to save every millisecond and therefore every Sunday.
The gospel is indeed one song. But it is a song with many notes. The news is the same, but some of the words may change and the angles shift. (Use a thesaurus if you have to.) If we are awake to the gospel and seek the wakefulness of others, Christian and non-Christian, the playing of the greatest song at every instance is a lot like the exuberance of childlike wonder in monotonous fun. In Orthodoxy, the great G.K. Chesterton writes:
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
When we "get" the gospel for what it really is -- the power to save, the most thrilling news there could be, the declaration that God's Son died for us and then came back to life! to be the risen Lord and supreme King of the universe, not just the entry fee for heaven but the currency for all of life -- we revel in the new creation it unleashes in its wake at every turn. We never get tired of hearing it. It's the new song that never gets old. "Play it again, play it again!" we will cry.
Gospel wakened people have been given the strength enough to exult in the beautiful monotony of the gospel.
The further good news is that those who are dulled in their senses will not be further dulled by the gospel. In fact, only the gospel can deliver them from their dulled state. No amount of fog and lasers will do it.
That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel . . . -- Romans 1:15
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel -- Ephesians 6:19
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Comments on "The Beautiful Monotony of the Gospel":
2. Bob Sacamento
- 10/26/2009 10:52 am CDT
I kind of want to disagree in some respects here, but this is one of those situations that come up repreatedly in the blogosphere where, given the uncertainties in language, denotation vs. connotation, and all that, I'm not sure that I really disagree or not. But anyway ...
One of the more frustrating times I had in church life was a few years in this one church where almost every single sermon the minister preached was an evangelistic sermon. He was really a great guy in most ways. Everybody loved him when he wasn't behind the pulpit. I attended his church as long as I lived in that town. But alot of people would make comments under their breath like, "It's great to bring in new sheep, but the sheep that are already here need feeding too." And they were right.
3. Michele
- 10/26/2009 10:42 pm CDT
I've noticed when our pastor goes there, discusses justification, the Cross, the substitutionary death of the Son of God, across our large congregation, you can hear a pin drop. People lean forward and it's like a balm goes out over all. I love it, and have never once grown tired. We forget; This is why Jesus told us to remember.
Excellent post, Jared.
4. Quaid
- 10/28/2009 5:20 pm CDT
Bob - I think you bring up a great concern.
Still - I think it's possible to "feed the sheep" who are already there on a consistent basis and still speak to the Gospel on a weekly basis. The Gospel is seen throughout scripture from Genesis - Revelation.
In short, I think a preacher who has done their homework on any given Sunday could speak to both the unsaved and the saved through the Gospel. One of the best things about Christ's sacrifice is that no matter how mature of a Christian you are, you'll never be able to wrap your head around His grace.
Leave a Comment:
I think the "pain" of monotony is a battle against flesh mixed with a little spiritual warfare.
In our student ministry, we're doing a series based on Driscoll's Death By Love. The book covers the basic facets of Christ's death and resurrection (atonement, redemption, etc.). Already two weeks down and some of the high school students have openly mentioned a hesitance to come again on Sunday if we're talking about the same thing.
Granted, much of the variation needs to be played out through teaching. The Gospel has so many practical implications for our daily life, it ought never get old for those who are fully alive in it, as you've mentioned. But, how this vividness of life is presented by those who are leading/teaching/preaching is incredibly important. Those who are not as Spiritually mature must be shown how powerful this Gospel really is. It not only saves lives, it is life. It is life to the full.
I also think that the Gospel becomes much more alive and less monotonous the more we live it out. When we just listen to the Gospel, frustration of redundancy can easily creep its way in. When we are living the Gospel, there is no redundancy because His mercies are "new every morning."