Fed up with Christmas adverts already? One of the scariest, for me is the type of game that allows you to interact as if you were there, in a real space with others, but are not. Keep fit playing games: jumping around on a screen with others but there in the room by yourself! Yet the attraction of three dimensional games, that mimic real space and time, is growing. And engaging.
The Gospel is designed to be engaging. So why, for so many, is it not? We can short-sell the Gospel. There are meant to be three dimensions to it that can really take hold of the imagination of friends who don't know Jesus. Sometimes folk just get one or two dimensions offered to them.
So how can we speak of the Gospel in three dimensions?
The 1st dimension is instruction. the message itself, the Word, the declaration of who God is, what He does and how He loves - all revealed expressed in the life of Jesus Christ. It's what people have to hear about in order to know about Jesus and His love. This is the message that is in preaching, teaching and evangelism. It's the message of Jesus and His love. It's what we do when we talk to and tell people about Jesus and the God revealed in the Bible.
The 2nd dimension is impartation. We are given ability by God to impart to others, in the power of Holy Spirit's enabling. The expressions of Christ's ministry that come through us. Helping. Serving. Healing. Imparting peace to others. This is what God does to us and through us, as we give expression through our lives to the love of God for others. It has the smell of heaven about it, as people can sense something of God present as we share with them. It happens through close and caring relationships, as well as in acts of service.
The 3rd dimension is intentional intervention. Stepping out in God's agenda for deliberately strategising His concern for the marginalised and disadvantage in society in order to actively bless and encourage them. Pursuing justice and expressing righteousness. This happens through taking initiatives out into society to actively care for those in need.
We need to work on expressing all of these together. A single or two-dimensional Gospel may be 'right', but it is inadequate. To actively touch people with the real life of God, we need to have all three dimensions present in and through the life of church. Keeping it real.
