A Moment Aside ---- 8 September 2020

 

A Moment Aside ---- 8 September 2020

     These words attributed to the great reformer, Martin Luther, can teach us much – patience, hope, trust, even joy. They can assure us that even travelling the road is a good thing.

     The trouble is we are often impatient with ourselves and with God. We want it done NOW! We want the joys and peace of paridise NOW! We want God to cleanse and change us NOW! I’d imagine that such things are possible, but so are mistakes, and missteps, and failure. We can easily be discouraged in the entire process and give up… or decide it isn’t worth it… or think we’re too far gone for such a thing to work… or get mad at God. (You can get mad at God as you might with a friend or your spouse; it is possible and permissable and realistic. One thing is for sure: if you get mad at God, you’re taking God seriously!)

     Luther reminds us that life is growth in righteousness. It is growth in healing and growth toward what we will be. It is always becoming more. It is exercise, it is the road, it is purification.

“The process is not yet finished, but it is going on.”

     None of this implies that we are saving ourselves. We always and everywhere rely on grace, first and formost. God’s saving grace assures us of salvation… and grace never leaves us where it finds us. The goal of living as a Christian is to become like Jesus Christ and grace as a free gift takes us there, although we might not be happy about every step of the journey.

     Living a life in grace is a journey. “This is not the end, but it is the road.” We can be patient with ourselves and with God through all the problems, restarts, and doubts we encounter. We can live in hope with some assurance that all this is leading somewhere, whether we can see the end or not. Most times, we get enough light to see the next step but not enough to see much beyond. We can trust that the One who leads us will lead us well. (“I know not the way, but well I know my guide.”) And we can even take joy in the journey, looking to the goal and in companionship with all the others travelling the road and with the one who said… And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Mt. 28:20)

“We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it.”

Thanks be to God!