Snippet: "Just Preach the Gospel"

snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

Here’s a snippet from an article by Esau McCaulley:

“Only in the context of racial injustice are we told to articulate the plan of salvation exclusively. When marriages are struggling, we don’t just preach the gospel to couples. We give them practical tools to love one another better. When parents are looking for clues on how to raise children, we do not simply preach the gospel. We give them Bible-informed tools to parent well.”

It’s actually in more situations than discussions on racial injustice. It’s what we like to say whenever we don’t agree with someone.

Let’s be aware that we’re all prone do this on something. Dr. McCaulley almost certainly does it. I do it. You probably do it, too.

I would add, we say “the gospel” in situations like that, but we mean “the message of salvation and grace.”

The gospel is so comprehensive a term that the word “just” in the sentence “just preach the gospel” is nonsensical. The gospel is the whole story of what God is doing to restore all things, including our relationship with him (which is indeed the centerpiece). It brings a word to just about every topic under the sun.

“The CRT Debate Distracts from God’s Justice: In the conflict over racial issues, ‘just preach the gospel’ misses the gospel,” by Esau McCaulley.

ESAU MCCAULLEY

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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

Snippet: You Can Tap the Power of Stories

snip·pet | ˈsnipit | noun a small piece or brief extract.

This one is from Betsy Childs Howard:

“Nathan could have handled his showdown with David differently. He could have told the king that he knew all about Bathsheba and Uriah. He could have quoted the Ten Commandments.

Instead, he told King David a story.”

How can you and I tap into this power?

Read and reflect on the Bible; it’s mostly stories. The more you’re immersed in its world, the more its stories will come to mind when you need them.

If you’re a parent, you don’t have to come up with these on the spot. Just make sure your family life is immersed in great stories from books, movies, shows, podcasts, and other story sources. Here’s another snippet that makes that point:

“If you asked a 10-year-old raised in a Christian home whether it was a bad thing to deny Christ, he’d likely give the right answer. But if you read to him The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he’d experience Edmund’s tragic betrayal of Aslan, followed by his remorse and redemption. The story would expand his moral imagination so that “denying Christ” (or Aslan) would seem less abstract.”

When you hear a great story that helps make an important point or shapes the moral imagination, retell it as soon as you can. That makes it stick in your own mind. It will more likely come to mind in a pinch.

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash (Aslan statue at C.S. Lewis Square)