3-31-2020

Good Morning All,

         1 John 4:10; “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

    Now that the social distancing and quarantines are in place, we are “Grandpa Daycare and Grandma School” to three of our grandchildren.  The other day, the two girls were in my office and found a cheap balance scale.  You know the type; there are two plates suspended from a balance arm and when the weights are the same, the crossarm balances, if out of balance then one side is higher than the other.  I used in a wedding sermon a few years back.  After I explained how it worked, they were weighing all sorts of things to see what would balance.  Every so often, I would hear, “grandpa, look it weighs the same!”

    What intrigued me as I watched them play was that they were planted on the edge of my desk right next to a small cross that was a gift from a parishioner a couple of Christmases ago.  When the beam balanced, it looks like the cross.  In fact, if you have a cross, look at it and image to plates attached to it with your sins on one side and then the righteousness of Christ on the other.  It always balances.  Your sins will never outweigh the righteousness of Christ.  In the eyes of a just God, your debt is paid, and you owe nothing.  You are “square” with God.  The church phrase is “righteous before God” but it might be easier to think that, because of Jesus, we are “square with God” and since we are square, balanced, out of debt to God, He freely draws us into His holy family and gives to us free access to Him at all times, whenever we have need or desire.

    This free access is not only allowed; it is encouraged, even sought after by God.  His love for us, as His beloved children, is far greater than anything we can explain, comprehend, grasp or understand.  Yet it is this great love which moved God to bring about the balance that we so desperately need.  It is this great love that moves our heavenly Father to sustain us, encourage us and to give us growth.  It is His desire that you and I may have, and know of, His peace, His comfort, His mercy and His hope for salvation.

    As we look at the world today, there aren’t many places to find hope, peace or comfort.  Yet these are all Bible words, these are all words which find their beginning and their ending in the hands of our loving God.  This is the same loving God who sent His Son to willingly die so that you and I might be in balance with God.  The same God that died for you will give you His peace in this world when no one else can.  We can rest assured that God has His hand fully in control and His love guides us in all that we do.

Father, your mercies are new every morning!  Guide us by your Spirit to look only to You and to see Your benevolent protection.  Be with all who suffer from this virus.  Send your healing to them.  Be with the doctors and nurses that they may not waver or fail in their tasks.  Keep Your holy Church safe that she may be the beacon of truth pointing to You as our answer.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret