The Gospel, is it more than just a book?

I took a Ministry in it's Context class over the month of January, and the class was a lot of fun and life transforming for me.  But, it made me ask myself a lot of questions I have never asked myself before.  One question that still rings with me is what is the Gospel? 
 
Before I took the class my answer would have been the word the comes before the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  But, as the class went on, I found that I was terribly wrong.  The Gospel means so much more than that.  What it means more than that?  Yes, yes it does, but I would like for you to ask yourself some questions that may help you find what the Gospel means to you.
First, how has Christ been revealed to you?  God is in everything, he made everything and everything points to Him.  But, there are some things that catch our eye that point us to God.  I remember when I first met my now girlfriend Alycia.  It was like love at first site in Burger King, watching her steal my friends fries told me that she acts just like me.  Now, I did not see her as someone that I was going to be with forever, but I knew that I wanted to get to know her more.  This is what it is like when we meet God in our lives, when see Him in His creative work in us, our friends, or our world and we say, "Wow, who did all of this?"
Do you see God as a loving God that speaks love into our lives?  I have seen Him over and over again when I look at the beauty of His creation.  Nothing speaks greater depths to me than that I am here, on this earth.  I am a living, breathing, being that witness' the stars, the grass, the trees, and so much more.  What do you see that captures your heart that points to God?
Second, what needs do you have?  This question is not necessarily financial needs, or relationship needs, but needs that are deeper than that.  I have mentioned this so many times in my blogs, but I truly believe that we need to recognize our need to overcome our desires over the worldly things.  To many times we skip this and do not invite Jesus into these.  But, that is the message of the Gospel to me, that Jesus comes into those worldly desires, and he sets us free from them!  How great is that?  Those deep struggles that hurt us, that make us weak, can be overcome through the power of the Gospel of Christ!
Finally, how do you live it out?  I believe that the Gospel is not a "one and done" thing.  It continues in our lives and transforms us from the inside out.  It makes us new people like Peter.  With a new name and a new hobby to fish for men instead of fish.  When the Gospel is spoken into our lives, we live differently and we think differently.
 
My girlfriend went to a thing called S.O.S. (Service Over Self) a few years ago.  This is a ministry that reaches out to the people of Binghampton TN.  While there, she went on a trip with a leader to talk to people.  When they were coming back they found a man that never heard the Gospel of Christ.  While her leader was finding out what needs he could meet, he gave Alycia a Bible and said, "Go tell him the Gospel".  This is a message that we all have, we are not to be silent, but I encourage yourself to ask yourself what the Gospel is and also ask your pastor to help you find what it means.  I hope you get the chance to be able to find what the Gospel means to you and I also pray that you get the chance to tell someone else about it as well.