Good News?

I've got some really good news... and it's not that I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance, either.
In Acts 8, Philip is teaching people about Jesus. But notice how the Scripture describes his message. He "preached the Good News about the kingdom of God..." (v.12). Jesus Christ and His church is some Good News! Or, at least, it should be.
Sometimes I think we don't let the message of Jesus really stand as Good News. I realize this in my own life. When I view Jesus, often times I see commitment. And I'm not bitter about that. I want to serve Jesus Christ every day of my life. But the message of Jesus is not about being freed from the slavery of sin only to be enslaved to God. Now, we are slaves to righteousness (Romans 6), that's true; but that's not all there is to being a Christian. There has to be something "Good" too. My point is: through our rules and regulations, traditions and legalisms, emotions and feelings, have we kept the Good News from being Good News?
Well, what's so good about it in the first place? You know, when I find what John said about Jesus' purposes in coming to earth, I find the Good News there. Do you remember what he said in the first chapter of his gospel? He said that Jesus Christ came to bring mercy and truth. Jesus didn't come to add on to the Law. Jesus came to fulfill the Law! And He fulfilled it, moved it aside, and set up what James calls the "Law of Liberty!"
Mercy! Truth! That's the Good News! We are unworthy to stand before God. Yet Jesus Christ died for us that we might not only stand, but embrace the Father, and have a relationship with Him as a new creation. That's Good News. God loves us; He loves us so much that He's putting everything else on hold, sometimes, just so that certain people to come to Him (that's what 2 Peter says). That's Good News.
Are you living a life that shows that you really believe you're saved by Good News? Or are you thinking you're only a part of some Binding News? What kind of News are you preaching to others? A message that wants them to have a spirit of fear, or a message that wants them to have a spirit of adoption by which they too can cry, "Abba, Father"?
God wants us all to sit up on His lap and read the newspaper with Him. Forget the Sports section, the Classifieds, and even the Funnies. Read about the Good News. Hear the story of Jesus. Understand the mercy and truth; be filled with the love and peace. God is our Father just as well as He is our Lord and Master. Never forget it.