When did the Good News become about making sure we don’t go to hell?

The Good News, Jesus said, is that “I have come to give you life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

The Good News is about life; a true, unadulterated, abundant, and beautiful life. It’s about being filled with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Good News isn’t about eternal life someday. It is about enjoying eternal life right here, right now.

The Good News is about being forgiven for our sins. It’s about not having a record, not hearing “I told you so” or having our past used against us. It isn’t about guilt or shame.

The Good News is that through Jesus Christ, no matter what sins we’ve committed or how many times we’ve failed God has a rotten memory (Isaiah 43:25).

The Good News is that we are enough. We are free to get rid of our self-centered, self-righteous, and self-indulgent attitudes that look at everyone as a threat and everything as a need.

The Good News is that we can stop in the rat race of life to listen and learn that we are loved simply because we breathe and not because of what we do, who we know, or what we own.

The Good News is that war, famine, prejudice, hatred, greed, homelessness, disease, and sorrow don’t have the last word. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The Good News is that we can have peace in the midst of chaos, joy in the midst of sorrow, hope in the midst of despair, love in the midst of hatred, light in the midst of darkness, beauty in the midst of ugliness, and tenderness in the midst of brutality.

The Good News is that we don’t have to understand it to get it.

The Good News is that we don’t have to find God. God has found us.

The Good News is such great news that the bad news is not news.

That is Good News.