Why would a young couple move from the leafy suburb of Mosman on Sydney’s lower north shore to the bush, even to Cobar? Why would a young family relocate from the relative comfort of Darwin to Alice Springs, or from busy, comfortable, family friendly Sydney suburban life to the isolation of Norfolk Island – all to serve the Gospel of Jesus?

I think that there are four imperatives that flow from the Gospel of Jesus that shape BCA Field Staff thinking on why they serve as they do. In fact, I believe these four imperatives are for all of us who know and love the Lord Jesus.

First of all, the entire purpose of this world continues to be fulfilled as the Good News of Jesus is proclaimed.

One of John’s gospel’s most striking features is that John places the events of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus into a cosmic framework – an ‘all of history framework’, beginning all the way back with creation (John 1:1–3).

I think that by beginning his gospel in this way, John was tying both God’s creative activity and His creation purposes to the person of the Son, Jesus.

What were those creation purposes? In summary, Genesis 1 and 2 show us God’s purpose in creation is pre-eminently to create a people for Himself. And as John’s gospel begins, what we find revealed to us is that God’s creation purposes, God’s creation of a people for Himself, is a story that continues to this very day as the Good News of Jesus is proclaimed and as men and women, boys and girls turn to Him in faith and repentance (John 1:12–13).

Second, God is a God whose love demands Christians share the Good News of Jesus.

We are very familiar with John 3:16 and we very often understand it to declare the magnitude of God’s love – a love so great it sent Jesus to His death for us. Yet it is also very much to be understood as an explanation of the manner, or the way in which God loved His world.

The way God loved His world was that by Jesus’ death God satisfied His own justice – in the person of the Son, God took the penalty that our rebellion against Him deserved, upon Himself. At the cross what we see is the perfect love of God so intersect with the perfect justice of God, that God’s justice is satisfied, and the relationship broken by human rebellion is now restored – all by the death of the Son (Romans 5:6–11).

How could we not want to share the beyond incredibly good news that those once condemned because of rebellion against God are saved by the death of Jesus?

Third, the seriousness of life demands we share the Good News of Jesus.

Although God created a world He Himself described as ‘very good’ for most of human history the world has been a place where our rebellion against God has made it a place of darkness where our own death is the ultimate penalty (Genesis 1:31; Romans 3:23; John 3:19; Romans 6:23).

Worst of all, there can be no human solution to the human problem, because at the very heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.

The Good News of the Gospel is that it is ‘Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath.’ (1Thessalonians 1:10).

Fourth, the nature of the Christian gospel demands we share it.

The Gospel is exactly what the people of our world need to hear. While there are all sorts of religions in this world, the Gospel of Jesus is unique for in His Gospel we discover that it is God alone working in His world to save us when we are helpless to save ourselves (John 1:12–13).

Won’t you join in partnership with us as we at Bush Church Aid strive to go the distance for His Gospel’s sake? The purpose of the world, the love of God, the seriousness of life and the nature of the gospel all demand we do.