“It’s good for what ails you.” That’s the Gospel, the message of the Christ addressing the needs of all people everywhere, throughout time. And it’s fairly obvious to anyone paying attention that we’re—meaning everybody everywhere—in a predicament these days. Warfare, politics, disease, bad weather, lack of everything, disagreement about everything; problems keep piling up and up and up. It’s happening across the globe, and it’s happening in your neighborhood. And the Gospel presents a solution to the woes of this world. Or does it? That’s the question.

I’ve heard messages from the pulpit that point out the deficiencies apparent in this world: unequal distribution of wealth, pollution of the environment, laws that contradict the Bible. And the expectation is that something needs to be done about these problems, and the Gospel provides the inspired remedy for doing just that. Relationship with creator God provides the basis for addressing these problems, and the result will be a better life that’s available to everyone. After all, doesn’t the Bible promote proper stewarding of the created world, a fair distribution of wealth within society and proper conduct regulated by just laws and their appropriate administration? Sure it does! The Lord gave Adam and Eve stewardship of this world; He laid out the proper organization for a fair and just society to the ancient Israelites, and affirmed the basic principles for law and order to the early Church. What we need to do is evangelize all peoples across the globe so that Christians inspired by the Gospel can lead the way for a better version of the world; right?

It depends in part on how we acquire our ideas about these things. Since I’m addressing a Christian audience in these posts I’m promoting the Bible as the important resource for our ideas. And I’m assuming that messages from the pulpit will be supported by the scriptures to one degree or another. Before Jesus ascended into heaven He told the disciples to go “and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) However, there are still pockets of people that haven’t been evangelized, and there are places where the government doesn’t promote the message of the Gospel, even to the point of outlawing it altogether. Therefore we’ve got to get on the stick: evangelizing people in the bush, counteracting forms of government that deny the Christian message, and contending for Biblical values within societies informed by the Gospel. If we can do that we can make the world a better place that’s aligned with the truth of the Word. That’s sort of what happened once the Christian faith was embraced by the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Instead of being ostracized the Church became a central institution of the Roman world and a proponent of the Christian message throughout the earth.

Things have changed considerably since then because the powers of the Church, and the government, have been separated, so that rule of law is no longer used to impose Christian faith and values on people. However the Bible still provides the inspiration for “fair and free elections,” social justice, proper stewardship of resources, and law and order, at least among the believing community. It’s just a matter of getting, and keeping, everybody on board with the Lord’s program. Sound’s good doesn’t it? Good people doing the right thing in order for everybody to benefit and obtain a version of the good life. Of course, in our pluralistic society different people have different ideas about what the good life actually entails. Those who aren’t informed by the Bible have their own ideas about what’s good and there’s an ongoing struggle to define and promote a version of the good life in American society.

But is the goal of a good life is really biblical. Jesus didn’t promise these things. He said things like: “…in the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I don’t think He was simply referring to the condition of the world prior to its being evangelized and biblical norms established. In fact He promised there would be a great deal of turmoil throughout history prior to His reappearance. (Matthew 24) It’s true that the spread of the Gospel has contributed to the development of cultures exhibiting a more “civilized” version of society. Christianized people aren’t engaging in ritual human sacrifice, or employing sexual activity as a means of communicating with the gods. But being Christianized and being a Christian are two different things and since not every citizen embraces the “good news,” the best we can hope for is a world that is somewhat influenced by Christianity.

That’s why Christian history is so chaotic. Inquisitions, religious warfare, and even the religious right can’t produce Christians. People can hear about Christianity and even promote Christian principles in society. But even creating a government that’s informed by biblical values, including the rule of law does not get to the heart of the matter, which is the condition of the human soul. People hear about Jesus and are inspired. They create institutions that promote principles derived from the Bible: “Thou shalt not kill.” But being informed by the Bible and establishing a Christianized version of society does not produce Christians. This is true for Churches as well as governments.

That’s why the Gospel isn’t about creating a better way of life for everyone in this world. It’s not about living happily ever after and then going to heaven when you die. The Gospel is about providing a way out of the human predicament, which is existence apart from God. In our natural condition we’re really subhuman because what makes people human is living life in fellowship with the Lord. When Adam and Eve sinned fellowship was broken with creator God. They were driven out of the Garden of Eden and it’s been a struggle ever since.  Even with the covenant relationships established through Abraham and Moses, there has never been a time in which the human condition was really addressed. What the Lord did through the patriarchs was a precursor to the ultimate solution to the human condition established through Jesus. It was through the cross that true fellowship with the Lord was reestablished. Apart from God we’re subhuman; through the cross our humanity is restored, because our fellowship with God is restored. That’s why creating a society that’s simply informed by Biblical values is inadequate and produces the same shortcomings that are found in any society: the tendencies for conflict, corruption, and confusion.

This points to our need to understand the supernatural nature of our existence. We are who we are because of our relationship with our Father God. We’re lost and rendered subhuman apart from God and our humanity is restored through our reconciliation with the Father. You can’t impose this through rule of law, and this supernatural feature of human existence is generally denied by modern western culture altogether. But human existence is supernatural. Even the Church tends to downplay this aspect of being alive. Except for people on the fringe who give some focus to this reality, “modern” people don’t invest much in the supernatural. It’s all about the exercise of the mind, meaning reasoned understanding. And this environment influences how we engage the Word regarding God, meaning theology. Good theology is well reasoned theology and I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t use our noggins to understand our existence, or our faith. What I’m saying is that the Bible assumes the existence of the supernatural. Human existence is supernatural. God is supernatural. Even when we’re engaged in rational thought, including reasoned theology, there is always a supernatural dimension involved.

So what? The importance of this understanding derives from the fact that the supernatural realm is contested. There is good and evil at work in the world which is informed by the supernatural. (1 John 5:19) As long as personified evil—meaning the evil one, Satan, the devil—continues to inform our reality there will never be such a thing as living happily ever after, at least not in this life. And therefore viewing the Gospel as a means of producing a panacea for human existence is not only futile, it’s a waste of time. Our focus as Christians needs to be on hearing from the Lord and following His lead; seeking the Lord regarding every aspect of our lives. Recognizing that our goal is to “know Him and the power of His resurrection,” and allow Him to set the agenda so as to further His purposes. (Philippians 3:10) This approach is appropriate for everyone, we’re all called to participate in the effort to represent God and promote His agenda to a lost and dying world. It’s the same for people who remain in place, marry, and raise a family, and those who go in order to evangelize in a hostile environment. We’re all called to serve, and we’re all called to participate in the Lord’s agenda. And as we seek the Lord and learn of Him, the supernatural dimension of our existence becomes evident. We don’t just decide for ourselves through careful thinking; we seek, we listen, and we expect to hear from God—or at least we should.

Our goal is not to live happily ever after, enjoying the good life until He returns. Our goal is to know the Lord and follow after Him wherever He may lead us; and following His lead is truly a supernatural adventure. What’s amazing about this approach is that it takes on features that are part of what fascinates us. Think about all the things that are presented to us as entertainment in this country. With the proliferation of media, we are constantly being given opportunities to be adventurous, at least within our own minds. Movies, personal videos, video games; they all stimulate our imagination. And that stimulation spills over into the media’s presentation of real life. News programs don’t just provide information about current events; they present the events in a sensational manner that stresses their significance. The audience is placed on the ground in a combat zone, or presented with video in which an actual crime is committed.

By comparison the Gospel can seem dull and outdated. And it is if we don’t read our Bible carefully and believe what it says. The scriptures don’t just tell us what’s right and wrong. They don’t just present the human dilemma and its remedy in an abstract manner that has no bearing on our immediate circumstances. What the Bible does is show what our reality really involves. There are real forces at work that seek to delude us. They try and draw our attention away from the truth, and they are sinister and desire to destroy us. There is a God—the One and Only—who wants to communicate with us. And we can know Him in an intimate way that will render our lives as adventurous as any fantasy of fiction. And you don’t have to be a missionary in a war zone to experience this. It’s available to all of us regardless of our calling.

From this vantage point even the usual can be rendered significant. Finding a place to live, seeking employment, choosing a Church, discovering something new about ourselves; everything that adheres to our life is rendered significant as we submit it to the Lord and learn how to follow His lead. Instead of just following the current drift of the culture, we can find our bearings and actually move forward towards a goal that will increasingly define us as children of God in His service. Instead of looking for some distraction that can ward off the boredom that’s nipping at our heels, life can take on significance; a significance that can satisfy as nothing else can. That truly is the good life.