what is the gospel?

Okay, so amid my rambling questions and wonderings yesterday, I was wondering about the gospel - and about Jesus at the center of it.  And what that ends up meaning in living the life of Christ.

Today has been a day of Father sending along a lot of answers (and some challenges that make me wonder even more). 

In relation to the gospel, Lionel Woods asked "Sooo... what's the gospel again?"  He spoke of how the gospel often seems to disappear into a "a list of facts/beliefs/cognitive recognition."  Yes, oh yes, I can certainly relate to that.  Then he goes on to say this about the gospel:

Any Gospel that does not carry with it the obligation to love your neighbor as yourself (also your brother) is not a Gospel of the scriptures. Let me say that again… any Gospel that lacks the obligation to love is not a real Gospel.... The Gospel isn’t a list of facts the Gospel is a person who we are now in and now lives in us good works seems to be an essential component and the work of love the greatest of these.

(Now if you are already suffering signs of a heart attack, I don't recommend you read the rest of the post.  Or maybe you really do need to read it!  You might want to sit down first...  It kind of sounds like something from the Sermon on the Mount.  Sometimes it's a good thing to read in new words and new examples, the old words we've heard over and over, and have assumed we understand them, and believe them, and follow them.  But maybe we don't.)

By the way, one of the commenters, Hutch, added this:

... the gospel does not just come with an obligation to love, when embraced it actually imparts the internal motivation and divine enabling to love God, neighbor and enemy through the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ/Holy Spirit.

And Detroit added:

Articulation doesn’t mean belief.... That there has to be some power to change and cause you to love and seek what is right. If there is no power I question whether you have believed the true gospel. I believe the reformation may have brought about a denial of the power that must be associated with the gospel because of the great intellectual and theological awakening.

Yes, and yes.

(That's one thing I really love about blogs.  The body of Christ having the opportunity to edify, encourage, build up, share, discuss what Father has been teaching them.  Hopefully without flaming.  Hopefully in love... like the gospel, you know.)