What would you say the gospel is?

For the past decade, I have struggled with how to define the good news to my friends, family and neighbors in ways that make them say "hmmmmm, is there more?" Then I read a book which made the hairs on my arms stand straight up. Perhaps my trouble is that I had the wrong definition of the good news!

I have always thought that the good news was that Jesus came down from Heaven to save us. I can't do this life on my own, and I need a savior. If I just repented of my sin and accepted that Jesus was the ruler of my life, then I would be saved and counted in the Book of Life.

And this has been a fabulous transaction in my life. I have found that by turning to Jesus, my life has changed in the here and now, and not just for the eternal future. But there has been something gnawing at me ever since. Because this transaction isn't just about me and the others who have cashed in. And I'm having a hard time convincing others that they just need to "pray the prayer" and life will be there in the full. There seems to be more to the story. . .

As I read through the Gospels, one idea keeps popping up that was introduced in the book The Secret Message of Jesus: what if the good news is simply that "the Kingdom of God is at hand" in all it's fullness. What? In me? Here and now in this messed up world? No way. But what if it was true? To me, that seems like really good news that I would want to share with my friends and family! That we don't have to wait for peace, love and joy to enter into our lives and world, but that it is and can be in the present. Wouldn't that be attractive to people?

OK, you may think that this idea is completely insane. So do I. In the midst of all the wars, the fighting, the violence, the sexualization of society, the mean things we do to each other every day, how could the Kingdom of God be here right now? It seems completely impossible minus a huge ball of fire oblierating all the principalities and powers and starting afresh. But irregardless of our backgrounds, all of us have a desire inside for peace, harmony, love, unselfishness, beauty etc.

But Jesus says over and over in the gospels "the Kingdom of God is here". He also spends alot of time trying to explain what the Kingdom of God is like. So why have I ignored it? Why have I just pushed that thought towards the future hope? What if it was true and meant for us today? What if I truly believed that the impossible was possible with God?

Imagine starting conversations with people about world events and inject a little possibility into the dialogue. (For some reason I always sing John Lennon's Imagine when I do this.) Imagine having people become so intrigued with the possibility of a "heaven on earth" that they start rethinking all that they do in light of that possibility. Imagine if that rethinking actually changed how we live and see our lives and our communities. Imagine if that change led to us actually acting on living this possibility. And as one of us acted on it, perhaps others would too...and so on, and so on and so on.

So I continue to mull this over in my head and experiment a bit. There seems to be something to this rethinking of what the gospel is that resonates with me as I hang out with my friends who don't know Jesus. Especially those who don't realize that they need a savior. They certainly know that this world is a mess! But no one has told them that it doens't have to be!

I have far more questions than answers right now. As Billy Joel says "You may wrong, I may be crazy...but it just may be a lunatic you're looking for!" I would be interested in hearing other's thoughts on this topic. In fact, I would love to have people read The Secret Message of Jesus and discuss it together!

So I pose this question to the rest of you sojourners of the faith: What would you say the gospel is?