Sin

I found a passage from Luther´s Commentary on Galatians where on p.14.  He was defending Jesus as very God and that it was correct and just that only God could make amends for the damages of sin.  Here Luther goes so far as to point finger at those sects who still cling to the notion that somehow you and I could pay for them or please God on our own efforts.  Anyone who still thinks that there is good inside of themselves and trusts their own merits are trying to rob God and Christ of the honor that belongs to them alone.

The position held by each man will not in the end be decided by the fine minds of other thinking individuals but rather will have to pass before the heavenly throne of judgement  Therefore hold your position on these matters however you will, but the intelligent will give weight to Jesus´ words.  If God Himself has told me that no effort of mine is good enough and that I need to come unto him so that He can give it me what I cannot do, I fail to see how people would attempt to look anywhere else.  Out of simple logic I must go, not to look for another way or something that suits my reason better.  I must listen and obey.  I must do just what my Lord says.

What the Lord says when he says come, is like an earthly father who sees his child attempting to do something beyond his abilities like tying his shoe or taking the lid off a container.  The father says, ¨come, let me help.¨ What this earthly father says when he says ¨come,¨ is means that, rather than continuing to struggle at something that is outside of your capabilities, all you need to do is stop trying and bring it to me.  The child just needs to come, and so do we.

When Jesus says, ¨come,¨ all that is necessary is for us to stop doing, hear his voice and obey.  We need to drop what we are doing and go to Him so that He can get done the very thing that we could not do.  We show our loyalty and love by obeying His words.  What were his words? Did Jesus say, ¨try a little harder.¨  Did He say, ¨be a better person,¨ or ¨do more for the church¨?  No, Jesus said, ¨come.¨

Read for yourself and trust no man.  Go to the Bible and take what you read there before the throne of grace to find the clarity you need on the matter.  Pray in earnest and attempt to be honest with God and yourself.  But Jesus said it very clearly and His word is trustworthy and still stands today.  Christ says, ¨come¨.

If it is so important and if it is what Jesus has asked us to do, the how can we do it and what does He mean by it?  Well, to start with, we have already said that we need to stop doing whatever it is that we are trying to do by our own effort.  This may seem simple but I am afraid that most of us never get past this point.  We may admit our guilt and even go to the Lord in prayer to confess, even turning our hearts to Him.  But did we stop doing?

It is of essence that we stop doing, so that we can truly come.  If we skip a step in our current material surroundings, we may fall or stay afoot somehow.  But in spiritual terms, all things are interlocking and essential to the whole.  The earthly child whose father asked him to come, had to actually stop trying so that he could bring whatever it was to his father who COULD do it for him.  Likewise, we must actually stop, let go of our burden.  We need to honestly hand whatever it is over to Jesus, or He cannot do it for us.  So then the word, ¨come,¨ starts with this.

The next part and just as essential to the word ¨come¨, is getting closer to Him.  This also sounds simple but take a moment to examine how we are by nature.  Perhaps we listen to the first part and actually stop doing.  We know it was outside of our abilities and when we hear His say it, we do stop and drop it.  But it does not end there, there is another part and it is the best part.

When Jesus says ¨come¨, the second part is to actually turn to Him.  We have to take whatever it was and literally hand it over to Him to do.  To do this sounds so simple that it almost seems ridiculous to mention, but once again, how many of us actually do this?  It takes time, and attention, these are things that our busy lives will not give up easily.  Our modern way of living does not leave room for this.  We need to actually turn our attention on Him.  ¨Come,¨ is an invitation and a command.  It requires that we move positionally closer and to do that our attention must be directed in seeing that happen.

However ridiculous this may seem, I am afraid that for the most part, we do not see much activity of the Spirit of God working in mighty ways in our lives because we have failed in this too simple act.

Put it to the test, I do not refer to complicated theories where much study is required or great minds to work out all the ramifications.  Jesus´s words were simple and the instruction is sound.  Take Him for His word and do what He asks.  You will have all the proof you need and you will not need another sheep from the fold to take you by the hand and lead you.  I preach to myself and I must direct myself to the shepherd in the very same way.  By looking to Him you will be looking in the right direction.

Only by looking can we see anything, so make every effort to assure that you do.  Then when Jesus says, ¨come¨, we will be able to follow through to the letter.  We will humbly stop our efforts and actually take our sin to the Lord.  We will give our attention to Him and look to Him as He accomplishes what we could not.  Best of all, by coming unto Him we are filling our eyes with the wonder of Him and we are warming our very soul with the love and bonding of each moment spent there with Him.

There is nothing finer, nor anything we should desire more that to come running when He beckons us to come.  Shall we not each one try our best in all honesty to obey that word today?

In Christ,

Scott W