Instead of thinking about the gospel as something only external, or something to be seen, or a story to be heard (which it is), we must also view it as a lens by which we view everything else. The gospel changes our hearts from stone to flesh, but it also allows us to put on new glasses (maybe contact lenses or Spirit-driven Lasik surgery) so that we don't see everything as rosy, but see everything as it really is for the first time. it changes the way we view art, entertainment, making money, bottom lines, how we treat employees, dealing with loss of jobs, disappointment, failure, beauty, time, excellence, self-expression, autonomy, ethics, fear, anxiety, and how we approach work every day. There is no part of life that the gospel does not affect. The challenge is: how? How does it change and affect everything? That is our challenge.
Transformed in our thinking then in our living - The gospel works to transform us from our fallen world's system by first redeeming our life and then renewing our mind. This frees us to think with true wisdom, to no longer be bound by the shackles of a system that keeps self as the highest good. The gospel means that though we live in a world with unbelievers, though we still are in a system dominated by Satanic influence on the minds and hearts of many, though we do business and engage with unbelievers everyday, we are no longer bound in the same way. We are built to see, and do things differently. This means we think differently about art and beauty, competition and victory, money and happiness, and in thinking differently, we live differently.
The above is adapted from a message by Pastor Jordan, called "Road of Redemption: How the Gospel Changes Our Work." You can read or listen to the whole thing here.
