By Charmaine Hibberd

I was reading through an email that a friend had sent me the other day and in it happened to be the phrase ‘the Good News of Jesus Christ.’

I paused at this stage and was stunned at how quickly I can often gloss over the statement ‘Good News’.

The Gospel is often referred to as the ‘Good News’ and I wonder, how often do I think of it as such when sharing my faith?

What was the last piece of good news that you received? How did it make you feel? Surely it made you feel great! You got the job! They asked you out on a date, finally! You got the all clear from the doctor! These things incite great joy in us because they add to our lives and make them better – and that is exactly what Jesus does for us.

I wonder, if we regularly saw the message of Jesus and salvation as good news, wouldn’t we be quicker to share it? What stops us? How have we twisted the Good News so that it has become ok news or just news?

We need to be a bridge to the Gospel, making it easy for people to see salvation as good news!

Judgment and condemnation were never God’s plan for us. Romans 8:1 says that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus so surely being in Christ Jesus, or in relationship with him, would be good news!

Love is God’s mission. It says in John 3 v 17 that God sent His Son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.

Consider what good news the Gospel was to you when you first heard it. For me it was a relief. I had been carrying huge weights around with me emotionally and I felt God lift them from me at the point of my salvation.

God is good. Salvation is good. The Good News is good. Let’s make sure that we, as followers of Jesus, don’t make the Gospel bad news to those who need it.