The Gospel

Sometimes I think American Evangelicalism has so constricted the Gospel by making it about 'getting born again' and into the Rapture life boat that we forget about it's cosmic deminsions. The Gospel isn't a 'get-out-of-the-tribulation-free' card nor a 'get-out-of-hell' card. It is about God's re-creation of a world fallen and marred by sin. This is a fine reminder from Riley:

[The Gospel] is a different kind of good news. Not just good news for individuals. Not just good news about heaven and hell, though that is part of this story. But it is good news for the whole world. For the entire created order. A world that groans for freedom. A world that is on its way to completion and unity, being brought together in truth, goodness, and beauty in Christ. For the people who hear this good news, it's about joining with God in re-creation. For we have been made new creations, and then we have been entrusted with a ministry of recreation - reconciling all things with God. We have been given the chance to reflect God's love for the world - its inhabitants as well as its earth - and God's desire to rescue it from the destruction and deception that has been loosed upon it by humanity's selfishness and pride.