Sunday, June 1, 2008

A matter of semantics

We often talk about the importance of or being grateful for “the gospel in our lives.” I sometimes think we have it backwards (and it reveals a particular mindset). Ought we not to say that we are grateful that our lives are in the gospel?

The first instance implies that the gospel is only one part of our lives, that it is somehow separable from other things like work or play or whatever.

The second instance suggests that our lives our surrounded by, immersed in, the gospel—that the gospel touches any and every part of what we do on a day-to-day basis.

Surely this is part of what it means to be a true disciple, to be living the gospel all the time—not taking time off for vacations or leaving our church membership at home when we go to work or pretending that obedience and diligence are optional on certain days of the week.