Imagine walking into a crowded auditorium. All the seats are gone, and all you can see are people standing around or walking every which way. There is only one sound that fills your ears though: the most annoying song you can think of. That song is being pumped through the sound system at full blast. It is bouncing off the walls. It is being sung by every person in the room. And worst of all, it is on an infinite loop. The worst song in the world is the only sound you can hear. It is all you can focus on.
Now, imagine seeing a guy walk through the center of the room. He doesn’t look much different, except for the giant smile on his face. Everyone else is frowning, crying, driven crazy by the song, completely miserable. Of all the people in the auditorium, he alone looks happy. You notice in one of his hands is a phone. On the phones screen, you can just barely catch a glimpse of the album cover of your favorite song in the whole world. Plugged into the phone is an infinite headphone splitter. On his back, you can see a backpack that is filled to the brim with top-of-the-line, noise canceling headphones. Through the noise and chaos, you can hear a tiny voice whisper, “Come closer. I am playing your favorite song.”
All you have to do is choose that voice. You have to come closer, ignore the annoying song, accept the headphones, and listen to the best song ever written. As you step closer, you look around. Surely other people have heard that quiet voice. Surely they want to escape that terrible song playing on repeat. But not very many people are moving towards the man. Only a handful have chosen to walk up to him and take his headphones.
This is how the Gospel works.
In this world, we can only hear one thing, over and over again: “I hate you!” We tell it to ourselves, we hear it from the rest of the world, we see it on the news, sin screams it in our ears, and the devil slaps us in the face with it. We are so desperate for any other message, a simple reprieve from the cacophony of hatred that penetrates our ear drums.
Jesus came to the earth to save us. He saw us drowning in the hatred and came to offer us joy and love and grace, which can only come from God. This was so important to Him, that He died to offer us these. He rose again to give us new lives, built on the foundation of His love, joy, and grace.
All we have to do is look past the hatred, sin, and death. All we have to do is choose the Good News, All we have to do is cling to Jesus and the joy that comes from God. The sad truth is that most people do not choose Him. All they know is the hatred, so they cannot believe that something else exists. From birth, they have been taught to focus on the negative things that surround us, so they cannot fathom a loving Father who wishes more than anything to save us from our sins, our pasts, and hatred.
This is the Good News, the Gospel, the Joy from God! Jesus Christ came to die for us sinners and bring us salvation so that one day we can live eternally with Him.
Do we carry that joy with us? Do we show everyone we meet God’s love? Are we telling the world about a Better Choice? Or are we singing that same tired old song?
