Things you know - but it's worth being reminded.
It’s surprising to me that at this age I would need to be reminded of certain things. I’m well aware that my mind doesn’t retain things as easily as it did when I was in my teens and twenties. Back then I could listen to a song on the radio (which was how we listened to popular music in those days) a couple of times and have the lyrics memorized. And they are easily recalled to this day!
But that’s not really what I’m talking about. What I have in mind is that I need to be reminded of truths that have been a part of my existence for decades. Lately, I’ve gotten into a bad habit of neglecting exercise. I know that good stewardship of my health requires portion control when I eat. But exercise – e.g. cardio and load-bearing workouts – is also good for the body’s systems. Whereas I used to spin (cycle) 3 to 5 days a week, I’d gotten to the point that I rarely even walked.
It’s been good to be out on the roads and trails these past few weeks. My mind is fresher, I wake up earlier and more easily, and those measures of better health (blood pressure and heart rate, for example) are better readings, too.
Saying “I love you” to those people who are dearest to us is an important practice, too. We can fall out of that habit when we take life’s good things for granted. We know that our spouse/child loves us, and they should know we love them. As for the former, we promised that at the altar and we haven’t changed our minds! But it’s always good to hear it aloud.
That is also true regarding the love of God. We need to hear that love for us, a love which moved Christ Jesus to sacrifice Himself on Calvary’s cross for our forgiveness. It’s easy to ignore that powerful Gospel, or to lose sight of it, living in a world where there is no such thing as a free lunch. The Gospel is unique in that it works in a completely different direction: it’s all gift. That’s why it is so important to be in God’s house (worship) and be in God’s word (scripture reading and devotions).
You’d think you wouldn’t need to be reminded of that truth that has been a part of your existence perhaps since your infant baptism. But that’s something of which it’s always worth being reminded!
Have you met _______, yet?
Sometimes, when you introduce one acquaintance to another you’ll do so with the question “Have you met _____?” I have a couple of friends whose names would fit nicely into the title sentence, above. That is, with the addition of the word “yet” before the question mark.
I think that describes these friends with greater accuracy because it suggests that these extroverts have probably already introduced themselves! They eagerly walk up to people they’ve never met because they would like to meet them. They’re not running for office, simply enlarging their circles of acquaintances and potential friends.
We had such a man in our midst at Redeemer this weekend. His name is Gary Thies and he serves as a Mission Development Counselor for the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. He works through a marvelous organization known as Mission Central, where he is the director. Throughout our services and the Bible class this affable brother in Christ Jesus came back, time and again, to a variation of the title of this blog. His question, which he would encourage everyone to adopt, was not “Have you met Jesus, yet?” but “Do you know Jesus?”
The more I think about it, that’s a wonderful way to describe part of our task as Christians, called by the Lord Jesus to be His witnesses in the world (Acts 1:8). It is more than a question about where one might attend worship or to which denomination a person might belong. It cuts right to the heart of the matter. “Do you know Jesus?”
It helps to consider where the conversation could go from there. The follow up to that question’s answer can be (a) a wonderfully encouraging talk between brothers and sisters in Christ, (b) an invitation to come to worship, or (c) an opportunity to clarify a misconception someone might be harboring regarding the message of the Bible or the work of the church.
Our message needs to be one that centers on the Person, the words, and the work of Christ Jesus. He is the One whose suffering, death, and resurrection brings forgiveness, meaning, and everlasting life to all who put their trust in Him.
Passing the truth along
With Fathers’ Day just passed I’m sharing some words from Dr. Dale Meyer, president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
“One generation shall commend your works to another” (Psalm 145:4). The third century church father Origen wrote, “However much obedience we offer (to our parents), we have not yet repaid the recompense of thanks for being born, for being carried, for drawing light, for being nurtured and perhaps educated and trained in honest skills. And perhaps by the same originators (parents), we came to know God and came to the Church of God and heard the word of the divine law.” (“The Fathers of the Church,” 216).
I’m ever so thankful for the way in which my father – and my mother! – passed along to me what they knew of God and brought me to the services of His house. Yesterday we celebrated the mystery of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in the midst of families passing that truth through the generations (one great-great-grandfather in the mix), as did our children in Omaha who will soon be passing it on to yet another generation. Today, on this campus, we’ll be taking part in that in yet another way - Vacation Bible School!
God bless you and your family as you share, one with another, that one thing needful! (Luke 10:42)