The true nature of human beings is selfishness.

It bothers me to write that and I look for evidence that the statement is false every day.  I want people to be selfless, looking out for others, sacrificing their own wants and needs to help those less fortunate.  I think Matt Chandler is looking for that too.*  He knows that is a cornerstone of Jesus’ teaching:  “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… I was a stranger and you invited me in…” (Matthew 25:35–36), “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35). 

This selfless attitude is part of what Chandler discusses  in the part of his book labeled the “gospel in the air.”  Christians are distracted from the wider, more cosmic message of the Gospel by their own religious experience.  The “gospel on the ground” is the individual’s experience, but what is that experience supposed to produce?

Fruit. 

The big question is this: is the present life you are leading a growing life, a life dedicated to doing God’s work on this earth or are your present actions overshadowed by your past.  I was saved.  I believed.  I felt Jesus.  [notice the past tense].  That is the point of the section of The Explicit Gospel entitled “How the Present Shadows the Past.”

Living with God is not merely a past event, it is a present reality.  For example in the context of his chapter on creation, Chandler is concerned with the fall of man.  That is a cosmic concern, not an individual concern.  He cites the first murder (Cain’s killing of his brother Abel).  This is a colossal event that introduced a heinous act into reality but Cain does not see it that way.  When he says to God “Am I my brother’s keeper?” he is stating that my action is mine alone.  I am not responsible for Abel (even though his actions ended his life).  Chandler points to the Ten Commandments and how so many of them assist us in relating to others.  The cosmic concern is that we should be reconciled to God and we should take steps to reconcile ourselves to others.  Jesus’ miracles are cosmic signs of His efforts to make things right.  He comes into a world that is broken and his “gospel of the kingdom” is all about restoration, not individual salvations of individual people (even though, of course, that happened).

Where is the problem for people who seek Jesus in their lives everyday?

They are “stuck” in the past.

They are not doing anything with their faith except holding it, trying to provide the veneer that will make them acceptable at church and with their Christian friends.  They are not using it.  Holding faith and not using faith is a recipe for spiritual decay.  Sins can hang around and undermine a relationship with God.  What should happen over time?  Sins should be less desirable, and with prayer and God’s help, they should be less present.  The love of God will eventually overpower the pleasure of the sin.  The world is full of things that distract and held faith does not do much to battle that problem.  Consumerism is a big idea but it plays out in everyday life as we spend money on things we do not need, accumulate debt that hampers our lives and worship things we own instead of our Father God.  We live in a consumer culture.  It is a message that is delivered to us every day of our lives.  If we are real “children of God” we will show it in the activities of our day (less consumerism, more sharing).

The true identity of a Christian is revealed by fruit.  Jesus said “You will know them by their fruits” [Matthew 7:16].    “A good tree will bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” [Matthew 7:18].  Christians will struggle and stumble and make horrible decisions over time but the trajectory of our lives over time will show more Christlikeness, increasing obedience and increasing love.

Maybe I am getting on the “ground” too much.  Chandler is discussing the “Gospel in the air.”  Individuals should experience the fruit.  Others should see the fruit but the wide-angle view of this is that Christian behavior is part of the God’s plan to restore mankind, “restore ‘all things’ for mankind’s enjoyment, Christ’s lordship and his triune self’s glory” [Chandler, 107].

I am saved.  I believe.  I feel Jesus. 

Not past.

Present.

*comments on his book The Explicit Gospel.