Furthering thoughts for May 16th 2019

There is something special about mirrors. We see them everyday in the morning and night as we brush and floss our teeth, wash our faces and brushing our hair. The mirror is important part of the bathroom because it shows our true reflection. No curve balls, no twists, the mirror simply shows it as it is. The good. The bad. The Ugly. There is no way around what the mirror reveals about ourselves. And so it is, with mirror of the law.

Romans 3:20 “Through the law comes the knowledge of sin” Romans 7:7 “Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, You shall not covet”

Just imagine a mirrorless world. We would be spared of all the details. The food in our teeth, the bad hair day etc. And even more, just imagine our lives without the mirror of the law. We would go down the destructive path without even knowing it.

But through the commandments [Ex20], we are shown the demands, the law of God. It is the law that ultimately accuses and shows us our sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20 “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” Galatians 3:10-11 “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse…Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the Law.

Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, we are born into sin-total corruption. Not a slight blemish, or a “boo-boo”, but completely corrupt without any hope [no one is justified by the law] to save ourselves.

The Law shows that we are sinners who are unable to escape the sin condition. Yet, it is the Word that also points to the Gospel of Jesus Christ who is the Savior for our sins. Thanks be to God that our merciful Father sent His only begotten Son to be the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is in our dirtiness of sin that Jesus comes to wash our sins away. With Sin answered, death overcome, the devil squashed, Jesus gives you the good news of great joy.

And thus, by His sacrificial love, we too, mirror this love to others. His love is our witness. Not what we have done, but what Christ has done for us. His love that covers the multitude of sins…as Isaiah describes “then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” [35:5-6]

Reflecting His love, we sing for joy as we rejoice in the freeing gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! The greatest message. The greatest hope. The greatest gift. The greatest treasure. The greatest reflection. The body and blood of Jesus given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.

Go, serve and love [and if you hearing this with a burdensome heart, go back to the Gospel] as the Holy Spirit leads you to be the witnesses of this age! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” Acts 1:8

Amen.