And now a brief interlude in the midst of the larger conversation about a prescriptive vs a descriptive Gospel, in which I ask and answer a question you may already be sick of hearing. That's fine with me, however, because I am a homeschool mom, and repetition and review is how we do. So:
What is the basic difference between a prescriptive Gospel and a descriptive Gospel?
It’s the difference between “you must” and “you are”;
between “you should” and “you will”;
between a lifestyle motivated by striving toward a standard that isn’t true about us yet, and therefore unattainable, and a lifestyle of resting, even basking, in what is already true, and trusting that that Truth will do the work (and empower us to join in the work) of flourishing into Itself.
Using this set of descriptive lenses to view the Gospel has changed the way I see things when I read the Bible, and maybe you’ll experience something similar? If you're game, grab your prescriptive lenses and your descriptive lenses, and give this exercise a go. What do you notice? How does scripture look different?
John 9:1-7, "As he passed by, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'(a) Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.(b) We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing."(c)
a- I notice the disciples using one set of lenses when asking this question here...
b- ...and Jesus using another when answering.
c- If you read the rest of the chapter you'll see a group of people who can't see what Jesus is doing while they wear their prescriptive lenses, and they work themselves into a right tizzy over it. It's fascinating.
Alright, let's get personal. I love using this next chunk of Scripture to highlight the difference between the two sets of lenses and how they affect us:
Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Doot doot doo...
How do you see this list?
Is it a checklist of things we must get good at if we want to be "good" Christians?
When I view it this way, with my prescriptive lenses on, I'm left feeling kind of ashamed and gross about myself for not measuring up, and kind of hopeless that I ever will.
But who is actually responsible for bringing this list of beautiful things to fruition? (Ha! I see what I did there.)
I will leave you with this to accompany your pondering:
"...for it is God who works in you, both to desire and to do for His good pleasure."
Philippians 2:13
Part 1: Prescription vs Description – Which is the Gospel?
Part 2: What Does a “Descriptive Gospel” Require?