We’ve got so many of these — the Gospel According to Peanuts, The Simpsons, Biff, Mary Magdalene, and of course, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But of all of them, the greatest of them for each one of us is our gospel. Think of it as The Gospel According to You.

Many of us know and can basically recite the gospel. It is primarily Jesus Christ dead, buried and risen again. It is what secures the forgiveness of sin for the human race. That which bars us from heaven and life with God has been removed. The barrier has been broken down. Now, all are welcome. It is, indeed, the Gospel of Welcome. But in the telling of the story, the most important part is that it is the gospel according to each one of us. It’s personal. It is His story, yes, but it is told as our story.

This is, of course, what makes the gospel real. It is a dynamically moving story. It is told from two perspectives — what God has done (that’s the objective part: the gospel story as told in the scriptures) and what God has done for me (that’s the subjective part: the part that includes our story and how we came to know Christ and what He means to each one of us, personally, every day).

This may seem too obvious to even make a point of it, but it is not. It is profoundly why we are here on earth. If God didn’t need us to tell His story, He would have removed us a long time ago. We are an integral part of the plan. It doesn’t become real except that it comes through us.

And it’s not just the gospel story as told by us; it is the reality of our relationship with God on a daily basis that becomes our own gospel. It’s cause and effect. What the gospel did for us, and what it continues to do for us, in and through the knowledge of Christ in our lives. That’s why all the details of our lives are extremely important. You and I are walking, talking scripture.

Either this is true, or it is not, and the proving ground becomes your life — all the intricacies of how God relates to you and how you relate to Him. This is the fragrance of Christ to God that is going on all the time in us (2 Corinthians 2:16). And this is why each one of us is so important: we are each so different, that we tell a different part of the story. The gospel doesn’t make us all the same; it blends into each of our lives to show a different aspect of God’s multi-faceted character.

So as you go through your day, think of yourself as an open book. It’s an ongoing story. It’s never over. Every day is another chapter; every relationship is another read. It’s the living version of the old, old story, so be ready to tell it. It’s a great read. It’s The Gospel According to You.