Shade Tree Wisdom 11/5/13

I believe the headline in the Houston Chronicle was “Night of Anguish” when it was reporting on the NFL Texans and how they fared the night before. In summary, they lost the game and their coach was taken to the hospital at half time with what looked like a heart attack. Turns out it wasn't, and early treatment should have him on feet shortly.

And the team, leading by 21 – 3 at half time and losing 21 – 24, and the kicker missed three kicks. The season that started with such high hopes seems a total loss and no one can really understand, given the team they have, what happened.

All this doesn't really concern you Packer fans, does it? But I mention it because it strikes me life is often just like that. The plans we have fail us, the goals we set vanish, life goes awry and we just don’t understand what went wrong?

Things happen we have no control over and we say, “How can God allow that to happen?” You've heard that question, and maybe even asked it yourself. That just isn't fair.

St. Paul in his letter to Timothy writes, “Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof public sinner number one - someone who could never have made apart from sheer mercy.” 1 Timothy 1,15
For God is love, as St. John teaches, and in His love he gave us His Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on the cross to pay for the sins we commit.

That is the Christian Gospel, and the claim we make for it is that it works.

It does what it says it does. It is the very same claim St. Peter put to the authorities at the very beginning of the Church when he said, “There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4,12. There is only one Savior, One salvation, one teaching that enables us to meet the various and often strange events in this life and in this world.

          The Gospel has the answers that we need. The claim that it helps a man to live in a real sense in this world. It alone does that, so that St. Paul can say, “All things work together for them that love God, for those who are called according to His purpose.” When we believe that, we do also believe that God knows exactly what happens, and it is always for our good. That is what makes the Christian life secure in God’s care. Blessed life so lived.

GPD 11/5/13