Then they said to Him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." John 6:28-29
Discussion and opinions about the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," is something you cannot escape.
While there is a great deal of diversity of opinion about the need, the validity, the numbers, and the constitutionality of the program, everyone agrees on one thing: healthy, young people need to sign up so their premiums can be used to take care of those who are ill and elderly.
The greatest danger to the program is the fact that many healthy, young people see no need to get health insurance and pay for someone else's physical well-being. That's why, in 2012, 18 million 19 to 34-year-olds had no health insurance at all. That's a massive 27 percent of the people in that age group.
Now us old codgers take a look at those figures and say, "That doesn't make sense. Don't these young folks know that sooner or later they're going to get sick? Don't they know that physical difficulties are going to come their way?"
And the answer to those questions is "Nope, they don't know those things." That's why the statisticians have given a new nickname to the adults who fit into that demographic. Those 19 to 34- year-olders are now called the "invincibles."
Think about that name for a second: the invincibles.
It is my hope that every one of our Daily Devotion subscribers knows he or she isn't invincible. Sooner or later something is going to get us, which is why we need insurance.
No, I'm not talking about medical insurance. I'm talking about spiritual insurance.
You see, when humankind sinned, death also came into this world. Read through the histories, look at the Bible, and you will find that human mortality is pretty close to 100 percent. That means unless you walk with God like Enoch, or can count on a fiery chariot like Elijah, you had better get some spiritual insurance.
You are not invincible; death is coming. That would be depressing if it were not for the fact that even though death is coming, Jesus has already been here.
By God's will, plan and grace, the Savior came into this world and offered Himself as the sacrifice that paid for the sins of every man, woman and child. His wounds, His punishment, His death, served as the payment price for our forgiveness and salvation. Now the Lord extends an invitation to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
When that happens, because of Jesus' blood and not our own merit, sin and Satan's hold on us is broken, and even death will find we have been made invincible.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, on my own I am a poor, miserable, defeated sinner. Grant that I may look upon the risen Redeemer and be held fast in the forgiveness and salvation He has won. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: Job 5-7 Matthew 8:18-34
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"