Good news? Most of us would love to hear a good news story, wouldn’t we?
After all, 2021 looks like turning into a slightly milder version of 2020, the news last week was dominated by ‘attacks on democracy’, and even the cricket is stained by the ugliness of racism.
Is there a good news story anywhere?
It might help us think about this if we ask some questions about this desire for good news.
I mean, why do we want good news? And, what kind of good news will make any difference?
The first question is easy to answer – good news makes us feel good.
It speaks to the world being better, life being manageable, and the future looking brighter.
But, all too often, the good news only scratches the surface, and very soon it is overwhelmed by the muck of this broken world.
That is the kind of good news we really need – good news that goes deeper than our surface emotions, good news that can and will deal with our broken world, and the causes of brokenness.
That is the answer to our second question – we desire good news that doesn’t shift the ugliness and broken state of the world to another place.
We need good news that roots out the brokenness and replaces it with goodness.
At a time that was similar to ours (without the technology), and dealing with people more downtrodden than us, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “I am here to bring good news.
“I am here to announce that God wants to deal with your hearts, not just the surface stuff’ – (see Luke’s biography of Jesus, in the fourth chapter).
This year, as you are searching for a good news story, why don’t you sit down and have a read of Jesus’ good news story?
I guarantee that it will dig deep below the surface and right to the heart of the matter.
Rev Bernard Gabbott
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