The Heartbeat of the Gospel

A post on ThePreachersWord left me reflecting on the question: “Are the things I am living for worth Christ dying for?”

It brought to mind Jesus’ words in John 12:24 — “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Paul reminded the Corinthians that if the dead do not rise, then neither has Christ — and if that’s true, our faith is empty. But because Christ has risen, we have every reason to live with Passion and hope.

My passion? The old hymn says it well: “I love to tell the story of Jesus and His love… ’twill be my theme in glory.”

The love of Jesus isn’t abstract; it has a face — the Woman Jesus called Mary Magdalene.

The following day, in another blog post ThePreachersWord pointed out that when people log in as working from home, but spend their time pursuing personal interests, they are “ghostworking.”  He then asked:

“Why do some Christians never seem to grow spiritually? They attend worship services, Bible classes, and some fellowship functions. Yet, little progress has been seen in their lives… Are they, in essence, just ghostworking their discipleship?”

That challenge takes root when we listen for the heartbeat of the Gospel.

For me, the stories of the Gospel are more than distant history; they can be as close as the very breath and heartbeat of the mother who brought us to life, so we could feel the loving hands of our father and recognize his face and authority.

The Rooster — that old Alektor — didn’t call Peter to be a spectator. He called Peter and his hands to be doers and hearers of the Word, to carry the cross daily, and to make a wholehearted commitment to Jesus — as all husbands should do to honour their wives.

And that call still echoes for us today.

If we truly watch and listen with that kind of intimacy, ghostworking in the Kingdom will never be an option — and our own fathers, and husbands who father our children, will be kings in our home and in the kingdom of God with Christ the King of Kings.

That call — to carry the cross, standing face to face before Jesus the Forerunner, the Alektor, whose neighbourly crow gathers the Bridegroom, the Bride, and all their kin face to face in covenant faithfulness — is as real today as it was on that morning by the sea.

If this reflection speaks to you, I invite you to linger a little longer — follow my blogs & posts as I explore the stories, scriptures, and symbols that keep calling me to reverberate the heartbeat of the Gospel.