11/26/2019
Katherine
Friends,
What's the hardest thing you've ever done? For me, it was Hebrew. My undergraduate degree was in theology and Biblical languages -- Greek and Hebrew. Greek was hard, but doable. Greek clicked, and we're still on good terms. But Hebrew! Hebrew was another story. Nothing made sense. Nothing was intuitive. The best I ever got was passable, and it was mostly gone just a few years after seminary.
The hardest thing Jesus ever did was the cross. Imagine dying for your sins. Now imagine dying for someone else's sins. Now imagine dying for the sins of every man, woman and child who ever lived or would live. I imagine you can't imagine that. Who could?
The good news is that the hardest thing Jesus ever did is connected to the easiest things you'll ever do. Getting saved cost him everything. It cost you nothing. He did all the hard work. All you and I have to do is believe it. And God even helps us with that. He promises to open to our eyes to see him in Jesus, to open our ears to hears his invitation, to open our hearts to believe the good news. He even lifts our chin to look his way.
The hardest thing some people do is fight God. They close their eyes every time he opens them. They stick their fingers in their ears every time he whispers his invitation. They harden their hearts every time he softens them. He tries to lift their chin. They squirm away.
Why do they do this? When God has made it so easy, when God has done all the hard work and even goes the extra mile of bringing us to faith, why fight it? Please don't.
In Christ,
Pastor Marty Hufford
Peace Lutheran Church