The LORD has been Gracious and Carried Our Burdens

Meet John Wayne… sometimes known as "The Duke."  Yes we call him the "Duke" because that was the actor's nickname.  But that's really the only part of his name that comes from the actor.  The name John comes from his dad's (Jason's) grandfather.   The name Wayne comes from me - :) 

I love what the two names mean.  John means "Yahweh is gracious" or "the Lord has been gracious."  Wayne has two meanings that are somewhat related - "wagon maker" or "burden bearer."  Put those two names together and this is what I get - "The Lord has been gracious and carried our burdens!"  

John's name both describes what our Lord is like - gracious - and how our Lord has shown that grace - by carrying our burdens.  Grace is "Gods undeserved love for us."   In other words,  God loves us even though we have given Him every reason not to.  He has shown that love by the gift of His Son Jesus who is our burden bearer.  As Isaiah foretold in chapter 53 - "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted.  But He was pierced for our transgressions, and He was crushed of our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds, we are healed."   

This morning as I sat here working on this blog, I listened as Beth (John's mom) was on the phone paying bills.  I heard her mumble, "Paying bills is a never ending task."   That's a truth we have all uttered.  Bills, which are part of life, can be such a burden.  Wouldn't you love it, if some else agreed to pay your bills for you?

John Wayne's name reminds us that our God has done just exactly that - He has paid our eternal bills for us.  The debt we owe because of sin is enormous -  a debt you and I could never hope to repay.  Because of that debt, which is our fault, God has every reason not to love us.  Yet, thank the Lord, our God is a "John Wayne" if you would… one who has loved us in spite of our sin (gracious) and because of His love has paid our debt of sin for us (carried our burdens.)    That's why in Confirmation classes one of the ways in which we teach people the meaning of grace is to teach it as an acronym - God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  God in His underserved love for us forgives all our sins, gives us His Holy Spirit, adopts us a His children, furnishes an eternal home for us in His house (God's Riches).  The cost for all those heavenly riches is the suffering and death of Jesus Christ (At Christ's Expense).

One more thought - the call to be missionaries is for you and me a call to be a "John Wayne" for those God brings across our paths.  We are called to show and tell about God's gracious love to the people we meet.  How?  By our words and our deeds.  I can't help but think of the story of the Good Samaritan in the parable.  Seeing the man on the road - robbed and beaten - the Samaritan sought to bind up his wounds, carried him to an inn and paid for his needs.  He showed God's gracious love to that man by seeking to help him bear his burdens.  That's our mission - to love people the way we have been loved - to help them with life's heavy loads (to be a "John Wayne") so that in our words and deeds they meet our gracious, burden bearing savior - Jesus!