Bad News - Who Needs It?

Great news! I won't be going to the hospital!

I've been concerned of late about the glazing over of the bad news that we've seen so much these days in the messages offered from Christians. I think we are not doing the Gospel justice by ignoring the sin problem. Some people have suggested that I'm overly concerned. Some people have indicated that it's not as big a deal as I think it is. My contention has been this: Without bad news, there is no good news. Without the problem of sin, clearly and carefully laid out, the Gospel just isn't that big of a deal.

Well, over the last few days I had the opportunity to experience the perfect example. A couple of years ago I went to the doctor for a pain in my leg. Now, I'm no medical alarmist, but this thing had been bothering me for too long, so I went. The doctor panicked. "Get out of here and get to the emergency room right away!" So I spent the next 8 hours in the hospital while they tested for and confirmed a blood clot in my right leg. Fortunately, it was below the knee. I went home with self-administered injections and an array of other treatments to come.

That incident passed, but my doctor made me acutely aware that I was in danger for the rest of my life, so I needed to be careful. So the when I noticed a pain in my left leg that had the same symptoms as the one years before and no reasonable explanation to explain it away ... I became concerned. I waited a few days and then went to the doctor on Friday (different doctor than before). The doctor sent me for testing. And the ultrasound technician seemed to linger in a couple of places that suggested that indeed there was cause for concern. Unfortunately, my doctor didn't get the results on Friday. So, while a potential death-threat sat in my leg over the weekend, I waited for the doctor to get back to me. On Monday morning, the doctor finally called. "The test came back negative. It looks like there is no problem. Take some Tylenol for the pain. You'll be fine in a few days."

Now, you can imagine my relief. What looked like a potentially heart or lung-stopping problem at worst and likely a lifetime of medicine at best suddenly became ... nothing. I was elated. But picture me at work just having received this good news. No one knew of my concerns. No one was aware that I had gone to the doctor for such a serious thing. So ... how do I express the joy and gratitude I was experiencing? How do I tell the people around me who hadn't gone through the concerns I had kept to myself all of last week? How do I convey that I was going to live when everyone already assumed you were? How do I get across "I don't have to go to the hospital!!!" when no one thought I did?

You see, to anyone on the outside, my good news was useless. "Of course you're not going to die. Of course you're not going to the hospital. Why would you think otherwise?" To me, knowing the potential bad news, it was truly good news.

Are we doing anyone any favors by soft-pedaling sin and simply warming their hearts with "Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life"?