My thoughts have been on our current struggle of injustice and inequality. How do we address these issues?
1st and foremost we need to recognize that the problem is SIN. Our sinful nature is self absorbed. In this past week’s sermon I called it “ME”ism. In the Garden of Eden, Satan told Eve, to look at the fruit which God said not to eat and to see that it is good.
His point was, “Can’t you see that God is lying to you. You are smart enough to see for yourself that the fruit is good.” Satan wants us to believe God is a liar and we don’t need him. He wants us to believe we can make this world better by escaping from God’s grasp.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Left to our own devices we only make things worse. We have invented all kinds of safety devices and those devices only work for the scenario they are designed for, but our world is full of multiple problems. For us to fix it means we have figure out how everything works together and to make everyone and everything behaves properly.
God is the only one capable of coordinating it all. He planned a solution based on his unconditional love. Sending Jesus to demonstrate his love based on sacrifice. He love is focused not on saving himself but on saving others. We cannot move forward until we recognize we are the problem and we need Jesus. The unifying trait of all humans is our sinfulness and our need for a Savior and forgiveness. Luther’s big theological breakthrough was, understanding, we are sinners and saints at the same time. My desire is to be free from God, to do what I want to do. To be who, I, want to be. Jesus chooses to lay aside who he is and chooses to be like me, even to take the blame for my sin and gives me his righteousness. The sad reality is, I still struggle to be free from him even as I realize my need for him.
I am thus still one who struggles with sin even as I am already forgiven. I struggle to be more like Jesus even as I struggle to be free from him. And I struggle to love all people as Jesus does even while at the same time I struggle with the feelings of wishing they were all like me and I wouldn’t have to deal with it. We need to understand that we are all sinners and saints (and also I am racist and nonracist) at the same time and we need Jesus’ forgiveness and we need to constantly come to him for forgiveness and strength to love each other as he has loved us.
Pastor Mark
1st and foremost we need to recognize that the problem is SIN. Our sinful nature is self absorbed. In this past week’s sermon I called it “ME”ism. In the Garden of Eden, Satan told Eve, to look at the fruit which God said not to eat and to see that it is good.
His point was, “Can’t you see that God is lying to you. You are smart enough to see for yourself that the fruit is good.” Satan wants us to believe God is a liar and we don’t need him. He wants us to believe we can make this world better by escaping from God’s grasp.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Left to our own devices we only make things worse. We have invented all kinds of safety devices and those devices only work for the scenario they are designed for, but our world is full of multiple problems. For us to fix it means we have figure out how everything works together and to make everyone and everything behaves properly.
God is the only one capable of coordinating it all. He planned a solution based on his unconditional love. Sending Jesus to demonstrate his love based on sacrifice. He love is focused not on saving himself but on saving others. We cannot move forward until we recognize we are the problem and we need Jesus. The unifying trait of all humans is our sinfulness and our need for a Savior and forgiveness. Luther’s big theological breakthrough was, understanding, we are sinners and saints at the same time. My desire is to be free from God, to do what I want to do. To be who, I, want to be. Jesus chooses to lay aside who he is and chooses to be like me, even to take the blame for my sin and gives me his righteousness. The sad reality is, I still struggle to be free from him even as I realize my need for him.
I am thus still one who struggles with sin even as I am already forgiven. I struggle to be more like Jesus even as I struggle to be free from him. And I struggle to love all people as Jesus does even while at the same time I struggle with the feelings of wishing they were all like me and I wouldn’t have to deal with it. We need to understand that we are all sinners and saints (and also I am racist and nonracist) at the same time and we need Jesus’ forgiveness and we need to constantly come to him for forgiveness and strength to love each other as he has loved us.
Pastor Mark
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