Too often, I fear, the Church seeks to market the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Too often the Church looks to make the Gospel attractive; to dress it up and embellish it.

I have no problem putting the Gospel on display for all to see, but in doing so, the Church should allow the  Gospel to be inherently inviting, and not attempt to increase its attractiveness, for that task is impossible.

As the Church has grown over the past twenty years, it has expanded and diversified, employing different approaches in hopes of drawing in the masses.

One could discuss the viability and practicality of church methodology (emergent/emerging, incarnational, attractional, seeker friendly, missional, etc) until blue in the face to no avail, for with each methodology comes a specific theology, audience, and conceptual framework by through which the ends are thought to justify the means.

However, one method that has caught my attention as particularly troubling is that of “wholeness”.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached as something to bring wholeness and completion to our lives; it is a quick-fix, a panacea, a 1-2-3 step process to a better life now; as though the world were suffering from a disease, and all they needed was a “Jesus” pill.

This world tells us we will find success in life when we are whole and when we are complete.
One more surgery, one more session with our  life coach, one more episode of Oprah…

And the Church has assimilated this approach into its thought and practice: accept Jesus Christ and your money problems will magically disappear, your depression will go away over night, your marriage will be like a fairytale without any hard work, and your house will double in value while the rest of the market is in a landslide.

Jesus isn’t treated as the Son of God who has come to give life abundant (John 10:10), He was a great teacher who imposed a flawless ethico-moral system which solves all our problems when we abide by it.

However, God does not want wholeness for your life (at least, not in the way we think of wholeness).

Instead, He wants holiness.

¹⁵but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
¹⁶because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
- 1 Peter 1: 15-16

Now it is no secret God desires the best for our life, but in reality He is the best!
He desires that we would have Him, and through that relationship we will find fulfillment and satisfaction the likes of which we thought could never exist.

God reveals our most desperate need, and it is Him; only through resting in Him will we find contentment in life.

Notice the words of the apostle Paul in the 4th chapter of Phillipians:

¹¹Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹²I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. ¹³I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

– Phillipians 4: 11-13

The Gospel of Jesus Christ from the world’s perspective teaches us that when we receive Jesus Christ, our life becomes perfect over night, granting us our best life now.

However, the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (pertaining to our specific context of discussing enjoyment, contentment, and satisfaction in life) is embodied in Paul’s passage above: receiving Jesus Christ into our lives allows us to live content in His strength and rest in His purposes for our life.

We don’t obtain this contentment through pursuing wholeness, we obtain it through pursuing His holiness, which is ultimately granted to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.