Ruminations on Relevancy

I spend almost every day thinking about and talking about and (sometimes) arguing about things that the vast majority of the world does not.

I think about text and Word and Spirit and theology and exegesis and genitives and datives and the difference between a double accusative and a predicate accusative.

Yet, God has called me into the world, not only as a pastor and church leader, but as His kid. I am supposed to go to the broken and hurting and lonely and angry and failed and depressed and anxious and poor and sick and imprisoned and tired and worn out and burnt out world and share with them the message of the Gospel.

Living the life I do, thinking about the things I think about, I am forced to ask myself if, by studying what I am studying, can I relevantly speak into the brokenness of humanity and offer them something meaningful?

Or can I only speak to those in my own discipline, answering questions only my peers are asking, without addressing the lived experience of the church?

In essence, the question could be viewed as, Is what I am doing worthwhile?

My answer?

A resounding yes.

As I study and learn and think and then think some more, I know more about Jesus, the Gospel, and myself.

I know Jesus better because I spend so much time in His Word, studying who He was and the incredible reality of God-Made-Flesh. As I understand who He is, I am transformed into someone more like Him.

I know the Gospel better because I learn how to think about and articulate a radical truth in a rapidly changing culture. I am able to understand the ultimate message of the Gospel--the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and its unequivocal centrality to humanity's life.

I know myself better, because as I become better acquainted with Christ and His Gospel, I begin to see my desperate need for both. Today, I am more aware of my need for the Gospel than I was yesterday. And, God willing, I will be more aware of my need for Jesus tomorrow.

I see who I am and what I do in sharp relief against the radiance of Christ and His Gospel. And I see the greatest need to better understand who He is and what He has done--I realize I only need to know and understand and experience more of Him.

Understanding the Gospel is what makes me relevant to a hurting world--not the way I dress, the music I listen to, the books I read, or the language I spin. These are all secondary to a robust understanding of the Gospel.

I am: irrelevant.
God is: the One who makes me relevant.