I was in the toilet at Pakuranga Plaza, as you do when the coffee threshold is reached, and the new Lynx 3 add was thrust into view as I looked on the wall ahead of me. The basic idea is to add two distinct smells together(lynx 1&2) and you create Lynx 3.
As my random thought processing started to kick in I started to think of the church and the calling that we have in the world. The reasons for the church to be in existence are to proclaim the gospel(Mark 13:10) and to build strong disciples(Eph 4:12) and this discipleship to be acted out. Many think that these two are on different levels. Where proclaiming is more important than acting and therefore everyone should be on the streets preaching as people shop. On the other hand in our individualistic society church can sometimes become all about me and the things that I get out of church.(maybe we have a wrong attitude about worship if this is our focus) The bible is full of ideas that seem to be in tension with each other and this is one of those. Evangelism vs Discipleship. Do we get out to the world and preach the words of the Gospel or preach through actions?
I suggest that there is more that one or the other. Just like Lynx 1&2 combine to make a unique and 'pleasing'? smell so to does the 1) gospel spoken & 2) gospel lived make a unique and pleasing 3) gospel in full. It is not enough as the body of Christ to tell about the life, death, resurrection unless it is lived out in the life of those who believe. Nor is is enough to live privately isolated as 'perfect' Christians. The 3) gospel is shown when those who live the gospel use words to tell others about it and when those who tell others about it live it as well. This happens in relationships(John 13:35) and in tasks we undertake(Luke 3:10-13).
Looking at 1 Thessalonians 1 I see that the gospel was not only spoken but was lived out. In the recent past I think that the Church has focused too much on the words of the gospel instead of the living the gospel. In reaction to this there is a noticeable shift in the perception of Christians that living out the gospel is more important. Almost to the point that having a sponsor child or riding a bike makes you a real Christian.(Tracey and I do have bikes and a sponsor child) What I can see happening is that the telling of the gospel(Christ's life,death and resurrection) will be lost in the gospel lived. The motivations are good (if you didn't realize that God is big on Justice and social issues) but holding the living and spoken word in tension needs to happen.
On their own I am sure that Lynx 1&2 are fine smelling fragrances...if I used it, ever...and like the spoken and lived Gospel they can be argued to be better smelling than each other. The point is that the gospel is not a cheap gimmick to sell something, and illustrations can only be taken so far before they get ridiculous. The gospel is a way of life shown to us by Christ. Living the gospel and proclaiming the gospel are not two separate things, they are part of the whole. If my convictions are so strong that I want to tell everyone about the healing that this world can have through Christ then why will I not want to live it out by giving power to the powerless? And again if my convictions are so string that I want to live out the life that I have in Christ by being a father to the fatherless and help to the helpless then why would I not want to tell people about Christ?
I suppose that I have come to the understanding that the Gospel is more than 1) words and more than 2) social action. It is both combined that creates the 3) Gospel of Christ.
