Centeredness
I said in Sunday’s sermon that the gospel is about our future (Colossians 1.3-5) and therefore it matters for us on an ongoing basis. The gospel is not something we ever grow past or get beyond. It is like water (which we drink daily) rather than an instruction booklet (which we discard once we’ve set up the bookshelf or bed or desk or whatever).
One proof that we never get beyond the gospel is the cross-centeredness of heaven. Here’s a great quote from Jim Elliff: “One is taken aback by the emphasis upon the Cross in Revelation. Heaven does not ‘get over’ the cross, as if there are better things to think about; heaven is not only Christ-centered, but cross-centered, and quite blaring about it.”
Here’s an even greater quote from the Apostle John: ‘And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth”’ (Revelation 5.6-10).
We’ll never get beyond the cross. We’ll never move past the gospel.
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