The Lutheran Hour
-
"Does God Love You?"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: Luke 13:4-5
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection say that all who believe in Him as Savior will be brought through the pains, the hurts, the crosses of this world. The Holy Spirit will bring them through this world and lead them to the perfect peace of eternal life. Grant this leading, dear Lord, to us all. Amen.
John 3:16 is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture. Thankfully, that verse is just as clear as it is familiar. It begins with this truth: God so loved the world. That the Lord would continue to love a sinful world, and all of humanity which has rejected His care and Creatorship, is beyond our comprehension. All we can do is give thanks for Divine grace and acknowledge the mercy God extends to His erring and wandering children. Because of the Savior’s substitution, His fulfillment of the Commandments, His rejection of Satan’s temptation and the taking of our place upon the cross, the Lord’s grace offers believers the forgiveness and salvation our transgression-tainted lives did not deserve.
God so loved the world. Over the last 20 centuries those words have given comfort and encouragement, strength and salvation to millions; millions who, by the Holy Spirit’s power, have been convicted of their sinful shortcomings and been brought to that place where they could confess Jesus Christ is their Savior and Lord. God so loved the world. A very young child, a boy or girl of two, or three, or four can understand the words, but the most brilliant of minds may not find it easy to believe them. God loves the world. The question I put to you is this: “Does God love you? Indeed, does God even like you?”
When a picture of your face flashes through the unlimited mind of God, in that trillionth of a nanosecond it takes for Him to bring up everything you have ever been, are, and will be, does He look upon you with a pleased smile; is the action done with compassion and kindness or… do you think some sort of dark cloud passes over His eyes; that He grows tense, uncomfortable, restless, eager to move on to another individual, a more pleasing, pleasant person than you? In short, does God wish to bless you or does He have it in for you?
In World War I, there was a British officer by the name of Major Summerford. In February of 1918, as he was crossing a Flanders’ bridge, a flash of lightning knocked him off his horse. The horse was instantly killed. Summerford was spared, although he was paralyzed from the waist down.
The officer’s disability caused him to be released from service and he retired to Canada’s Vancouver Island. One day, 1924 was the year, as a partially rehabilitated Summerford was fishing from the banks of a river, lightning hit the tree under which he was sitting. The tree was shattered by the bolt. And Summerford… Summerford’s right side was paralyzed. It took almost two years of therapy before the-human-lightning rod, Major Summerford, was strong enough, mobile enough to take regular strolls through the neighborhood parks. Summerford was taking such a constitutional when, on a summer’s day in 1930, another lightning bolt found him. This time there was no horse, no tree to share the shock. The bolt smashed into him and permanently paralyzed Summerford until the day he died two years later.
If you had been Summerford during those bedridden days, how would you have answered a visiting reporter who asked, “After taking three shots of lightning, do you think God loves you?” Four years after Summerford’s burial a great storm rolled over the town. After the storm had passed and people could investigate the damage, they were saddened to find not even their cemeteries had been spared. Indeed. One memorial stone had been struck and destroyed. Yes, the demolished, shattered tombstone belonged to Major Summerford.
Now I have to be honest, I don’t know if the story of Major Summerford is true or not. On the other hand, there is no doubt Croatian music teacher Frane Selak is real. Remember, the question is: ‘does God love you or does He not.” Frane’s story begins in January of 1962 when he was riding the train from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. The train derailed and plunged into an icy river. 17 passengers were killed, but Frane escaped with a broken arm along with a few bumps and bruises. In 1963, Frane was flying from Zagreb to Rijeka. The door of the plane blew away and Frane was sucked out. 19 others were killed, but not Frane. Frane survived because he landed on a hay stack.
In 1966, Frane was on a bus which plunged into a river. Four others died but not Frane. Frane escaped. He also escaped when, in 1970, a faulty fuel pump blew up his car. In 1973, another of Frane’s vehicles caught fire. He was driving along the highway when flames began to shoot from the air vents. In 1996, Frane drove off a cliff to get out of the path of a runaway truck. As the car was falling, Frane jumped. The car burst into flames 300 feet below. It was a sight Frane could see… from the safety of a tree which had caught him. So what do you think? Does God love Frane or not? Is God blessing Frane or is He playing with him? Is Frane Selak one of the world’s most favored of men or is he one of the most unfortunate?
And as long as I’m asking, let me ask this: “Are you one of the world’s most favored people or are you one of the most unfortunate? The majority of you will sigh and say, “Pastor, when you put it that way, I can’t complain. There are other folks, many other folks, who have things far, far worse than I do.”
If that’s the way you feel, that’s grand. That’s the way it should be. It’s fantastic that you and your family and all your friends have grand homes and a secure job and a solid retirement and a reliable vehicle in the garage and a solid credit rating and your big screen television is crystal clear. I’m so….”
And this is the spot where you’re going to stop this monologue and with some degree of upset say, “Whoa, wait a minute, Pastor. Let’s not get carried away. I said I didn’t feel cursed, but that doesn’t mean my life is perfect. I’ve got my share of problems. Most of the people I know have their share of sorrow and sadness.” Ahh, on that we agree. You all have had days of grief and nights of gloom. Because we live in a world which has been sickened and saddened by the introduction and continuation of sin, all of us encounter pains and problems. Each of us can expect to get our normal share of difficulties, can’t we?
The question is, ‘What happens when those difficulties aren’t normal?” There can be, there are those special times, tragic times, terrible times when problems come so fast, so furious they knock us off our feet and kick us when we’re down. They come when we’re unprepared, when we’re unstable, unsteady, unsure. First, there’s an earthquake in Haiti, after the earthquake there’s the attempt to dispose of thousands-upon-thousands of bodies, while the bodies are being buried the flies come; after the flies comes the disease. Problems pile up; difficulties descend and when they come in rapid and quick succession; even the bravest among us, the most courageous of our race is frightened. Indeed, at such times even folks of faith can find themselves looking toward heaven and wondering, “Lord, why are You doing this? What have I done to make You single me out? God, has Your love grown cold?”
In Scripture, the Psalmist wondered if God’s love had grown cold when he asked (85:5): “Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?” Moses found himself wondering when he wrote in the 90th Psalm (Ps. 90:7-9 NIV): “(Lord), We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.” Scripture records ancient Job, with his multitude of sufferings, waxing almost poetic as he mourns, (Job 19: 7b-21 excerpts), “I call for help, but there is no justice. 8God … has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head. 10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, and my hope has he pulled up like a tree ….4 My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me … 18 Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me. 19 All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me … 21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, 0 you my friends, for the hand of God has touched me!”
Does God love us or is His day spent waiting for us to make a big mistake so He can hit us with some big punishment? That’s what people asked of Jesus when they remembered the time some pilgrims from Galilee had been murdered in the temple -at the orders of the Roman procurator. The common consensus among the Jews had been those folks must have done some serious sinning for God to slaughter them on holy ground, struck them down right beside their sacrifices. And when the people finished telling their story, Jesus added one of His own. He said, “Yeah, that was bad … and how about those eighteen folks who were squished when a tower fell on them?”
Both stories ask, ‘Does God love us or doesn’t He?’ if a person commits a very, very, very bad sin, will God show His displeasure and hit that fellow with a very, very, very bad punishment?” The Bible says, ‘God so loved the world’, but God can seem inconsistent and capricious. And an unpredictable God is pretty frightening.
How about you? Are you afraid of God? Do His actions seem beyond your understanding? If those are the questions you’ve asked, are asking, today Jesus gives you an answer. No, Jesus is the answer. Jesus is God’s way of letting you know, in the most personal of ways, that He loves you. Jesus is the Father’s commitment that His love will not change, that it will last for forever and it always will be constant. Scripture allows me to offer you this unalterable, undeniable, unassailable promise: Jesus Christ is the Lord’s living, breathing Assurance that no problem, no predicament of life, no damage sent by the devil has the power or ability or authority to separate you from the love of God which comes through Him.
Now I am fully aware that what I have just said to you is not the kind of thing you are used to hearing. These are bold statements and they are the kind of comprehensive statements which would be total foolishness if they did not come from the Lord Himself. These statements leave no wiggle room or possibility of exception. The Lord wants you to know that when problems come, and they will come, His deliverance in Jesus will already be there with you. When crosses are laid upon you, because of Jesus, those crosses can be carried.
Please note I am not offering you some kind of secret code here. I am not saying you can mutter some mystical, magical prayers which will keep you isolated from the bad stuff of this world and grant you all the good stuff you desire. I’m not even saying that you can send the Lutheran Hour a donation which will buy God’s protection. When Jesus talked about the folks who were murdered in the temple and those who were killed because a tower fell on them, He didn’t say, “Yeah, if they had only given more money to the church, they would have been fine.” He didn’t say, “Those folks would have been spared if they had only known my super-secret prayer?” Instead of promoting such poppycock, Jesus said, “This is a sinful world and because it is a sinful world bad things are out there. Sooner or later some of those bad things are coming your way. Before those bad things show up on your doorstep you’d better repent… that’s it, you’d better repent of your sins and let the Holy Spirit bring you into a right and proper relationship with the Lord.”
Jesus knew: if you have a right and proper relationship with God, no matter what horrible situation comes your way, no matter what cross you carry, no matter the depth of the darkness which surrounds you, you will continue to be in the love of God. But there’s more. Scripture lets me tell you this: because of Jesus, nothing, nothing in all creation can separate you from the love which is yours through faith in the Savior. So you might have that assurance in every circumstance Is why Jesus was born.
Please, look into His Bethlehem manger. Tell me what you see. Look good. What you ought to see is the sacrifice who came to make things right between you and God. You are a sinner, but He wasn’t; you’re a sucker when Satan waves his temptations under your nose, but Jesus, Jesus refused the devil and He did it every time. You are the kind of person who can’t keep a commandment if your life depended on it, which it does; which is why Jesus kept all those commandments for you. Without a day off; without a vacation; without punching out because He had finished His shift, Jesus’ entire life was lived for you. Understand, with His powers He could have had fame. Since no illness could stand before Him, He could have been history’s greatest Physician. With His knowledge of the future, He could have made investments which would have made Him rich. With His connections, He could have asked His Father for legions of angels, swept aside the Roman armies and taken over the Empire’s throne.
Jesus didn’t do those things. Instead, He did this: He invested His earthly life for your eternal life. So you might be accepted in heaven, Jesus was rejected by His hometown, deserted by the crowds, misunderstood by His disciples, condemned by His church, crucified by His government. So you might be declared innocent of all sin, He avoided temptation; He fulfilled the Commandments and then He carried to His cross everything you have done wrong, everything you have done wrong. The most heinous and horrible of sins you have done and thought, Jesus had nailed to the cross with Him. Indeed, look at that cross. It should have been yours, you know. You should have hung there. Not just for a while, but for eternity. You may think you deserve a good life, but your sins say you deserve that cross; a cross you won’t get. Why? Take a look. There is no room on that cross. God’s sinless Son died for you there. Now all who believe on Him, who give thanks for Him, will not die eternally. On the contrary, they will live forever. And how do I know that? The Bible tells me so. And so does Jesus’ empty tomb. There Jesus’ promise, ‘because I live, you shall live also’, has new meaning. There we find, ‘Yes, God loves us. He loves us always and forever.’
A quick story as we end. It was the beginning of Chicago’s st. Patrick’s Day parade and an Irishman who was having a rough time thought he might ask some folks for a bit of extra change. A well-dressed couple strolled by, and never at a loss for words, the Irishman called out: “May the blessing of the Lord, which brings love and joy and wealth and a fine family, follow you all the days of your life.” With a raise of their noses the couple swept by his empty cup … which stayed empty. Now, with a bit of venom, the man called to their backs, “Yes, may the blessing of the Lord follow you all the days of your life. May it follow and never catch up.” Well, I’m saying God loves you and the blessings He gives to believers have already come. It is a blessing God’s love wishes to give to you. To that end, if we can help, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers)
March 7, 2010
Topic: No Other Name -Part #2Mark: And we’re back with Pastor Ken Klaus, picking up on a discussion we began last week. I’m Mark Eischer.
Ken: Mark, a quick summary of last week which we are continuing today.
Mark: OK. The question was, “Is it necessary to believe in Jesus in order to go to heaven?”
Ken: And we said humanity was condemned to hell because we were sinners.
Mark: And it is only through faith in Jesus that we can be saved.
Ken: But that makes people ask, “How about folks like Gandhi or the Dalai Lama or seemingly innocent people like those young children in Africa who are starving to death?”
Mark: … or those who’ve never heard of Jesus, or those whose governments forbid them to hear of Jesus, or those who parents won’t take them to church …
Ken: Yes, all of that.
Mark: Well, what do you say?
Ken: It is quite possible that these people are very good people. They may be extraordinary good examples when compared with others. They may be loving, moral, ethical, and honest. But the point is, goodness, morality, ethics, and honesty are not the criteria for heaven. The question remains: are they now–or have they ever been-¬sinners? Or are they perfect in every way, as God is and as He expects us to be?
Mark: Well, even the best of people are still sinners because no one meets God’s standards.
Ken: Even Gandhi?
Mark: Yes.
Ken: The Dali Lama?
Mark: Certainly. Everybody is a sinner and we all commit sins of thought, word, and deed. And, the Bible says, “There is not a just man on earth that does good and never
sins.”Ken: Bingo. Compared to the perfect holiness of the Lord, even the best of us misses the mark. And if we miss the mark, we’re done. We’re sinners and that means we deserve hell. And on our own, there is no way out of that.
Mark: But that’s where Jesus comes in.
Ken: Which is where Jesus comes in. God the Father loves all His creation, even though it has been corrupted by sin. Seeing our helplessness, He took pity on us and sent His Son to be our Redeemer and Savior. Jesus–truly innocent Jesus–was born for the express purpose of keeping the laws we have broken, resisting the temptations which have tripped us up, receiving the punishment for sin we deserved. Jesus did all this so that all who believe on Him will be saved.
Mark: Now, some would say you’re not being very open-minded when you frame things in this way.
Ken: Of course not. Look, imagine the whole world came down with a plague, a pestilence. Not swine flu, but sin flu. Suppose this sin flu was fatal. 100% of the time. Some people would take longer to die of it, but everybody would eventually die from the sin flu.
Then, totally unexpectedly, a doctor came up with a cure, a remedy which would cure 100% of the time. How would the world react to that kind of news?Mark: I think they’d all be lining up to get a dose.
Ken: Me, too. What would their reaction be though, if, in order to produce that medicine, the
Doctor’s son had to die? How would the world feel if that doctor’s son willingly sacrificed his life so they might live?Mark: I think in a case like that gratitude would be too small a word.
Ken: Yeah, far too small. What I have described is what God our heavenly Father did, what Jesus did. Jesus gave His life for us so we could live.
Mark: And how does the world react to that?
Ken: Some people say, “What if that person over there didn’t get the medicine?” They say there ought to be other kinds of medicine that work just as well. They say every medicine is just as good as the doctor’s medicine, they just call it by different brand
name…Mark: …or why can’t this medicine taste more like a vanilla latte?
Ken: Some go so far as to say there is no disease. It doesn’t exist-and neither does the doctor–or his son. Somebody just made up the whole story in order to gain power over others. That’s what you hear. But the truth is this: The blood of Jesus is the only medicine that saves souls from sin and hell.
Mark: And how would you sum this up for us today?
Ken: God is holy and He condemns sin. We are all sinners by nature and therefore we are condemned, by default. No one is worthy of heaven, not even the best of us. God didn’t have to reconcile us to Himself, but He chose to do so. Jesus is the promised Deliverer who kept God’s law for us, took the punishment for sin upon Himself, and then rose again to show that He had conquered sin, death, and hell. Through God’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given faith to believe it and become the people of God.
Mark: Thank you Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Kyrie” by Healey Willan. From Hope by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 2003 Concordia Seminary Chorus) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“O God of God, 0 Light of Light” by Charles Ore. From From My Perspective, vol. 3 by Charles Ore (© 1995 Organ Works Corporation) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Trio from Partita on ‘Hyfrydol'” by Charles Callahan. From Love Divine, All Loves Excelling by Charles Callahan (© Concordia Publishing House)