Life has changed, and the struggles are real. Bad news begs more attention than good news. We could either accept this is as the new normal or refuse to give in and push back. Real Hard! On this day, I’m rejecting the “bad news is normal news” scenario. Around every corner and under every cloud, I’m looking for Good News.
It’s been a while since I listened to a full newscast. There’s nothing good about it. They pander all the horrid news of the day and think we are fully informed. I yearn for the days of Charles Osgood or Paul Harvey. They could take just about any story and find the good that was worth hearing! I used to listen to them every morning back in the late ’90s. On the way to work, it set the day up to be a perfect experience.
Now. If I’m on the road, then I’m paying attention to the radio to keep abreast of the traffic – that’s about the only time I hear the news.
Good News
Did you know that’s what the word Gospel means? “Good News,” or “Good Message,” as some translations may say. If this is the crucial piece of our Christian Worldview, let’s give some Good News to someone who is overwrought with negative news.
At the beginning of his ministry, Matthew lays out the image of Jesus like this:
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And his fame went throughout all Syria:
and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments,
and those which were possessed with devils,
and those which were lunatick,
and those that had the palsy;
and he healed them.
And there followed him great multitudes of people
from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
(Matthew 4:23-25 KJV)
Wasn’t that Good News? Not only did he preach, but he also healed. His fame went before him, and the sick were brought to him for healing. Multitudes followed him for the world he lived in.
Maybe life will be better if we could share some good news more than the questionable news.
Regardless of your belief, regardless of your religious affiliation,
I don’t care if you’re an atheist, an agnostic, I don’t care. We could all use good news.
~Israel Houghton