One of the podcasts I listen to all the time is called You Made It Weird. It is hosted by stand-up comedian, Pete Holmes. Most of the guests are other comedians, and Pete chats with them for a couple hours at a time about comedy, life, philosophy, love, religion, and the meaning of life. It is very intriguing to hear them chat about all these things in one sitting.
From time to time, he interviews great thinkers instead of comedians. A few weeks ago he interviewed theologian and great thinker, Richard Rohr. The entire conversation was fascinating, but Rohr made one statement I loved and which stuck for me.
When speaking of the gospel, he said, "the gospel as an evacuation plan is a waste of time". It was such a simple statement with a great deal of weight packed into it.
The gospel screams of some very personal things, some very intimate possibilities, and some great things to be engaged, but in many ways, Christians have made the gospel a stamp of approval in the great evacuation. They have come to see life like the sinking Titanic, and they have turned the gospel into their ticket aboard the lifeboat. What a waste!
The gospel is so much more. It screams of a heart that beats for you and one which desires to be engaged and encountered. Jesus did astonishing and costly things to make that encounter possible for us.
Contrary to popular perspective, the boat is not sinking as fast as you think. Even if it was, you are wasting time trying to get the ticket you already have, and you m ay be missing a significant part of how life could be right now.
Worry less about your evacuation, and focus more on the heart that still beats for you.
