Theological Thursday

SHOWERS OF KINDNESS 

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” Ps. 118:1

“God is good, but not as a human being is good; from the very bottom of His heart He is inclined to help & do good continually . . . God unceasingly showers the best upon us. He is the Creator of our bodies & souls, our Protector by day & by night, & the Preserver of our lives. [Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.]

CHRIST CRUCIFIED

"St. Paul understood, & we should, too, just how far-reaching is the cross of Christ. We tell the world that because of Jesus' death & resurrection, we have eternal life in heaven. Absolutely! Every chance we get--including every sermon! But the cross means more to us than just heaven. What the cross has really done is reconcile us to God by removing the sin that separated us from Him. And when we're back together with God--who is all-powerful, all-knowing & all-loving, so that He can do what's best for us, know what's best for us & wants to!--we have everything, right now, that's really best for us, right now. That's preaching Christ crucified.

       "Everything. That's really good for us. That means it's the cross that gives us a job. It's the cross that gives us clothing & shoes, food & drink, house & home, & you know the rest The cross gives us everything we need to support this body & life. In whatever timing & whatever quantity (thick or lean) God knows to be best. He provides. Yes, all those First Article gifts are ours because we've been reconciled to God by Jesus' death on the cross.

       "So we talk about nothing but Christ crucified . . . including all that that means. Like how richly we've been blessed materially. Like how we are the very ones who provide God's material provisions to the poor--because God is providing them also with everything that's truly good by the cross of Christ. Heaven? Certainly . . . & the necessities of this life through us." ["Mercy from the Cross," Carl C. Fickenscher II, The Lutheran Witness, Feb. 2019]