He looked at me through his heavy-rimmed glasses.

“It sounds too good to be true.”

“Yes dad, it sounds too good to be true, but it’s just what your father’s heart would do.”

My father was very unwell, and I was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with him as he lay in hospital. Little did I realize a month later, he would pass.

Prior to the conversation, I had given him an intellectually sharp book on theology. I thought I needed to convince his mind of the Gospel’s truth. Written by a prized theologian, I hoped it would do the trick. To believe in Jesus Christ as God’s Son on earth stood up to intellectual scrutiny. After my decision to follow Jesus Christ, I had done my reading. Convinced of the intellectual veracity of my faith, I sought to convince my father, too. However, in doing so, I lost sight that this was not how I had said “yes” to Christ 4 years prior.

Dad made a comment about the quality of the theologian’s arguments when I realized I was fighting a losing battle. I felt deep over my head and unqualified to argue the finer points, so I quickly retreated and changed tack. I’m sure it was God inspired. It was the simplicity of salvation I needed to rest upon. I knew in that moment, I could not intellectualize him into the Kingdom, so I appealed to his father’s heart instead.

I referenced an estranged daughter, who had rejected my father out of hand. Seeing things through a warped lense, she failed to see him for all he was. She had refused to remain in relationship and it broke his heart.

“If she came through the door right now and apologized, asking for a relationship with you, there would be no hesitation from you. I know you would wrap your arms around her! Wouldn’t you, dad?”

His eyes filled with tears.

I then shared the story of how God, our Father and Jesus His Son hatched a plan together for all humankind to be recused through one altruistic act. My father’s heart opened and responded,

“Beth, it sounds too good to be true.”

The Gospel is simple. Its simplicity is offensive to the intellect. Theologians argue the finer points of Scripture, creating PhD doctorates from carefully planned theses. Intellectuals and religious ones demand complexity, even enjoying the mental gymnastics of debate. Reveling in their own intelligence, they cast downward glances while the world cries out, waiting to encounter Love. Sometimes, they make faith unattainable. Boxes of performance to be ticked for salvation’s sake, followed by “to do” lists of maintenance. Some even consider simplicity as shallow and naïve. But salvation is simpler than most of us think, and viewing salvation through the simplicity of Love is a profound thing to do. Love in motion is the framework through which we all catch the Gospel. Not through the intellect, but through the heart, where it matters.

That the death of one man (albeit God in man’s form) can take care of the mess created in the garden of Eden seems too good to be true. It’s illogical that one person’s death deals with all death – but it does.

The Gospel is profoundly simple. The Gospel is also simply profound.

My father, a professor of philosophy in symbolic logic, was fiercely intelligent. As an atheist, at best agnostic, what he needed was an encounter, not complex theological debates. Yet for years I had appealed to his logic, rather than his heart.

He became more teary as I spoke.

“Dad, it is that simple. We say sorry, he accepts us back, and we step into eternal life with him.”

The simplicity of the Gospel is offensive, unless you view it through the lense of love. Even in human form, love rarely makes sense. It causes incredible feats of sacrifice. In awe, we all nod as we honor the man or woman who sacrifices self for the betterment of all.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13.

My father knew love well. His love was deep and true. If I was in peril, I am certain he would sacrifice himself to protect me. His heart understood all too well the heart of the father I was describing to him.

The Gospel’s simplicity is clear when we look at the exchange between the thief and Jesus in the crucifixion Scriptures.

“Remember me,” the thief says to Jesus.

In return, Jesus says, “you shall be there with me in Paradise.”

There was no fanfare, no ministry, no baptism, tongues, or prayer from the thief.

Those who believe receive eternal life – simple, yet true.

There is simplicity in faith. It’s a disservice to make it more complicated than it is. Yes, its simplicity offends the intellect, but the Gospel does not appeal to intellect. The Gospel appeals to the heart, for it is the heart response that matters.

“Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies; and everyone who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die.” John 11:25-26 AMP.

My father was an intelligent man, but he did not need another intellectual debate. What my father needed was an encounter with Love. He needed an encounter with God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit.

As we talked, I understood this intuitively. Thank goodness God led the way with an inspired conversation. Some 27 years later, I now know an encounter with Love is the way. Personal encounter equals personal experience, and personal experience is hard to deny. An introduction can follow, if appropriate, but it is impossible to deny the experience.

If we become equipped to pray for others, as we host an encounter with the living God, we will do well. An encounter is an undeniable reality in an individual’s life. Experiential reality becomes an invitation to more, and a simple sharing of the Gospel can follow. It really is that simple; God really is that good!

My father’s ultimate journey remains a mystery to me. In those last months, I did all I knew to do, and then some. While I live in the tension of not knowing, I am at peace understanding God loved him far more than I ever could. I also rest, knowing God had it all in hand. I look back and now understand an encounter trumps argument every time.

The Gospel sounds too good to be true, but pure love reaches through all logic, and makes an offer anyway. That’s the nature of love.

If we will simplify the message to “Love wins!” we will do well. We can address the complexity of Scripture later. Let’s learn how to host the Lord well and provide people with a God encounter. If we do, we will allow them to taste and see for themselves that…

God is Good!

Luke 23:42-43 NASB – “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

John 11:25-26 (AMP) – “Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies; and everyone who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die.”

Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

© Beth Kennedy 2024