Gospel. This is the essential need of every human being. All who respond to the gospel in repentance and faith will have eternal life, which is, Christ Himself. All who are born are born into sin (Psalm 51:5). Because of this, there is need of redemption. Apart from redemption in Christ, one suffers the consequence of eternal damnation. And the beauty of Jesus Christ is that He came into this world to give Himself as Salvation for all who believe in Him. Life in Christ is the good news that is for us. Christ is our salvation and our only way to eternal life (John 14:6). Jesus is the gospel. And we must long for Him.
The concept of longing for something is to have an earnest or strong desire for it. This is the word I want to focus on because longing for the gospel is the most essential spiritual discipline for every Christian. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. And our salvation is not a mere transaction, instead salvation is our binding with Jesus Christ. Salvation is not a thing that is given to us, in which we then take and hold on to. Salvation is Christ Himself uniting with us as we then become one with Him. When we are receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive the life of Christ. This is done by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Life in Christ then allows us to bear fruit that is found in Christ alone. Jesus sanctifies, purifies, cleanses, forgives, leads, communes, and most importantly, loves us. We are brought into the life of Christ as we receive Him as our personal Savior. Our relationship with Him is ongoing and eternal, in which Christ makes Himself available to us. In our journey with Him, He walks through our every step. Christ nourishes us with Himself by providing His body and His blood as an incarnate reminder of the life that we have in Him. The binding into His life and love is something that we must long for in our walk with Him. In doing so, our relationship with Him will obtain intimacy in which we lay ourselves before Him, so that He may sanctify us in Himself. We must long to give ourselves daily for the sake of Christ Jesus, who is our Lord. We must yearn to seek forgiveness of our sins daily, as we repent and believe that Christ has granted that forgiveness to us by His blood, that was shed on our behalf.
We must yearn for Jesus Christ Himself, who is the giver of life. Longing for gospel is a spiritual discipline that I think all Christians should pursue. Christ gives Himself to us via free grace. This should be our motivation to pursue Him just as we would pursue those whom we love by being intentional. In our pursuit of Christ, we will experience the beauty that is found in Him and He will shape us into beautiful people. Let us yearn for Christ and His loving friendship that He has with us. Let us yearn for the gospel.
Finally, let us remember that we can not do or achieve any of these things apart from the grace of God alone. The grace that is offered to us in Jesus Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. The gospel is essential to the unbeliever and believer, as Christ is the nurturing source of our life. To the unbeliever, the gospel brings salvation, which then leads to life in Christ. To the believer, the gospel continues to save from daily sin and rebellion towards God. The gospel provides the nurturing of faith, hope, and love which is Christ Himself. This is the beauty of longing for the good news.
Dr. Robert Snitko 