The Most Important Election

“…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”

Ephesians 1:4a

Linda and I voted today.  For us this election marks a couple of firsts.  This is the first time we ever voted by Absentee Ballot.  That’s a more involved process than I realized.  For the past several months the American Consulate has been emailing us to tell us how to do this.  So in September we downloaded the registration form.   We filled that out and sent it to the clerk in Denton County Texas.  A couple of days later we received all the paper work we needed and a ballot for each of us.  This week we each did our voting.  We put it in the appropriate envelopes, and put the mailing labels on the front.  Then today, I walked both our ballots over to the US consulate.  The guard came out, I dropped them in the voting box.  Now the US consulate will mail them back to the states for us.  All of that was a first for us.

This election is also the first time we have ever been tempted not to vote.  Like many back in the states this election has frustrated us – so much nastiness… no candidates we really wanted to vote for… We almost decided not to vote.  But we couldn’t do that.  Voting is too important.  No we don’t buy the argument that the world will end if the wrong person wins.  No what makes voting important to us is the fact that members of our families risked their lives fighting for this right.  Men and women have died so that we could have this right.  We would dishonor their sacrifice by not voting. 

What helped me get past my frustrations?  It was an editorial that reminded me that no matter who wins the election, the next day Jesus will still be King of kings and Lord of lords.  That put everything in perspective for me.  Yes the presidential election is important.  But it’s not the end of the world.  The results of that election are only temporary… only really impacting this life.

There is another election that is much more important, an election that has eternal significance.  That’s the one Paul describes in Ephesians 1:4 - “…He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”  The most important election is the one that God held before He even created the world.  Think of all that He elected before time began.  He elected to create this whole, vast, beautiful universe.  He elected to create mankind, to put us in this world to take care of it.  Knowing all along that we would rebel, He elected to give the world a savior.  He elected that His own Son would come into this world, die for the sins of the world and be raised to life in order to conquer death.  On a more personal note, He elected to make you His own in Christ.  He chose you to be adopted as His Sons in baptism. 

God’s election is way more comforting and hopeful than even the best presidential election could ever hope to be.   Just think, knowing that the world would reject Him, God elected to love the world anyway.  Indeed He so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him might not perish but will have eternal life.   Knowing how sinful you and I would be, He elected to love us anyway.  He elected to call you and me by name, to wash away our sins and adopt us as His own in baptism.  Our assurance of forgiveness, our confidence in God’s love, our hope for eternity are not made certain by our choices and elections.  They are made certain by God’s choosing.

What about those living around us who do not believe?  Is there hope or comfort?  Do they have a place in God’s election?  They most certainly do!   Before the foundation of the world God elected to love the whole world.  God elected to give His Son for everyone.  That objective act is what gives me the confidence that He gave His Son for me.  Paul wrote “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself...”   God’s word is clear.  “God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  His arms are open, inviting all to come to Him… wanting everyone to hear how much He loves them… desiring all to believe in Jesus and be saved…  How will that happen?  We come back to His election.  He has elected you and me who believe to tell people about Him and His Son Jesus.

To me that puts this other election in context.  Why waste so much energy worrying and fretting and arguing over who gets elected President?  How much better to focus on the comfort, the hope, the purpose, the eternal blessings God’s election in Christ brings to you and me.  That’s the most important election. 

A New Song

“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…”

Psalm 40:3a

“Oh sing to the Lord, O sing God a new song… “

I love to sing.  In fact, one of the things that drives Linda crazy is that I can burst out into unexpected song just about any time and anywhere. It also drives her crazy that I only know the first line to many songs, and most of the time I will get that wrong too.  What’s more I will take well known songs and make them songs about people we happen to be with   However, as she will tell you, when I am going around singing, even if I am singing nonsense, that is a sure sign that I am relaxed and feeling good about life.  Just ask youth that have gone with me on mission trips.  That will all remember how I woke them up early each morning sing as loud as I could “So rise and shine and give God the glory, glory…” 

What I particularly enjoy is singing in Worship.  For me Sunday morning worship and in particular singing in worship is “Spring Training” for heaven.  When we sing in God’s house He is warming us up for eternity when we will be singing day and night before God’s throne.    I really struggle looking around a sanctuary and seeing people, usually men just standing there.  I know that some of them don’t like music, and many of them are just plain shy about their singing.  They are afraid that they can’t sing well.  My opinion is, so what?  I operate by the philosophy, “If you are going to sin, sin boldly.”  I apply that to my singing, “If you are going to make a mistake in a song, make it loud and no one will notice.”  One of my kids favorite stories is hearing me mix together two verses from a familiar hymn.  Instead of singing “Have no fear little flock…” I sang out “Have NO CHEER little flock…” Everybody in the church heard me, turned, saw it was me and laughed. 

It doesn’t bother or embarrass me at all.  God, you see, has given us great reason to sing and sing with gusto.  The Psalmist says it here - “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…”  Think for a moment of all that is “new” about the song God gives us to sing.   First of all its new because its different than any song this world gives us to sing.  For God’s new song is not selfish or lustful or greedy or degrading.  His new song is not at all focused on us.  It’s focused on Him.  The new song is a “song of praise to our God.” 

What’s more this new song is about the new thing that God has done in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is what makes the Christian faith different from every other religion.  In every other religion we are told to do something to make up for our sin, to earn our way back to God.  Because we can never do enough or be good enough that makes every other religion a real burden.  We are told to do what we can’t.  In Jesus God has done something news.  He has done for us what we can’t do.  He has come down to us, taken on flesh and blood, lived the perfect life we can’t, then paid the price for our failures by His death on the cross and finally been raised to life again to bring us back to God.  He does it all freely for us.  Wow!  If  Jesus isn’t reason to sing, I don’t know what is. 

God’s new work doesn’t stop there. Then He comes down into our lives.  He calls us to Himself baptism. He washes us clean.  He gives us His Holy Spirit.  He makes us new.  And every day His forgiveness and grace give us yet another new beginning.  One day He will make everything new and give us a new heaven and a new earth to live in forever.  “If anyone is in Christ Jesus He is a new creation.  Behold the old has gone and the new is come.”

Nothing expressed the new work God is doing in your heart and mine than to sing… to sing about Jesus… a new song worth singing every Sunday and every day… singing at the top of your lungs, unashamed, wanting everyone to hear – a song of praise to our God!  

“For God is the Lord and God has done wonders…”

It's a BIG Deal

"I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."  Psalm 32:5b

Have you ever apologized to someone for some wrong you committed...  ever asked someone to forgive you only to have them shrug their shoulders and say something like, "Don't worry about it, It's no big deal.  It doesn't matter?"  Have you ever responded that way to someone?  In my case the answer to both questions is yes and it drives me crazy.  I don't like it when someone says that to me or when I say it to someone else.

Why does this bother me?  Well think for a moment about what we are saying to someone by such a response.  If someone apologizes and you  respond, "It's no big deal" you are implying to them that they aren't a big deal to you.    You are implying that they just aren't important enough in your life for any wrong they might do to really hurt you.

Think about how the LORD responds to our confession.  David writes, "I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."   Our Lord never responds to our confession with words like, "It's no big deal," because in His eyes our sin is a big deal.  It matters to him because we matter to Him.  So He responds, "I forgive you."  With those words He makes plain just how serious our sin is and how much He loves us. With those words He is saying that He loves us so much that He is not wiling for our sin to separate us from Him.

Instead, rather than hold our sin against us, He gave His one and only Son.  Rather than punish us for our sins, He punished Jesus in our place.  That's what was happening through the cross and empty tomb of Jesus.   Jesus redeemed us from the curse of sin by Himself being cursed for us.   God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."   Jesus "was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification."  Your God loves you so much that rather than make you live with the pain sin deserves, He endured that pain for you.

Even having done all that, our Lord is not finished.  He provides the means of grace - the Gospel and the Sacraments - by which He forgives our sins. Two weeks ago, in the blog, I wrote about the First Act of our worship service – the invocation that recalls for us our baptisms.  Well the Second Act is Confession and Absolution.  Sin is such a big deal that the first and second Word God speaks to us in worship is the word of His forgiveness. I read a post online this week reminding me that confession of sin is a wonderful thing, but absolution (forgiveness) is even better.  One of the great joys of being a Pastor is that every Sunday I am privileged to stand here and be His mouthpiece.  In response to your confession, my joy is to say to you, “Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die or you and for His sake forgives you all your sin.  As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.”   What’s more, if some particular sin is really troubling you, God provides the gift of private confession.  You can come to your Pastor in complete confidentiality, confess the troubling sin or sins and hear God’s assurance of forgiveness spoken personally and privately to you.  Yes God so wants to assure you that you are forgiven that He provides a real live person, a Pastor whom He has called primarily to speak to you His marvelous words, “I forgive you.”

So when someone does apologize and ask your forgiveness, it is a big deal.  At that moment, the most loving words you can speak are these words, “Yes what you did hurt.  But you matter more to me and to Jesus than any hurt.  I forgive you and more importantly the Lord forgives you.”  That is a BIG Deal.  Amen.