Never Get Past the Gospel

Why is it that we always seem to think that the Gospel message is just the beginning of Christianity, and that we need to grow on beyond it? Good words from The Cripplegate:

In our minds, our lives progress beyond the simple message of the Gospel. Like getting past the need for training wheels, as we get better at life the assistance it provided is no longer necessary. It becomes a reference point for progress. Like rings within a tree. “See how far we’ve come.” In some strange way, getting beyond the “basics” of the Gospel is a sign of personal improvement.

But you never move beyond the Gospel to a more sophisticated or timely wisdom. There is no more intricate or relevant wisdom than the cross. God has nothing more to offer. Its simplicity, which we take for granted, is also its complexity. It is not moved beyond. You don’t get over it. You wade into it its vastness. What should astound us is its ever-deepening and infinitely unfolding depth of wisdom. It is the marvel of the infinite mind of God. It is the greatest thought the God of the universe is capable of thinking

Paul described himself as a steward of its immeasurable mysteries. He never got over it or moved past a dependence on it. He grew more basic in the sense that he was constantly coming to an awareness of the depth of those “basic” realities. His ever-growing need for it corresponded to his ever-increasing awareness of its enormity. He saw it. It consumed him. It was like digging through silos of unending grain. The deeper he dug the deeper he dug. As he turned it over, it grew more glorious, not less. With each examination it grew more substantial, not less. It becomes more relevant, not less. If you see it, you bow before it. You do not scoot around it. Its circumference is infinite.

In the light of the Gospel, we can see the truth in what had previously made no sense at all. As someone once said, grace slips in and changes all the price tags in the display window. Everything is new. And it is all free. We see life through the lens of eternity and the Savior’s love.