What you want and what you need
By the Rev. Mark Eichler, Faith Lutheran Church
Friday, January 16, 2009
Many times we feel we don’t have everything we need. We need a new car and the money just isn’t there. That living room chair is ready to fall apart. The room addition we had planned — well, there’s no need of even thinking of it now! And we could go on. We never have enough.
But is this true? Are we really lacking the things we need? What is meant by “need?” It varies from one person to another. If we examine the situation, we will probably find that often the things we don’t have are things we really don’t need. The old car really could be repaired. We don’t absolutely need the room addition. And we do have other chairs in the living room. The things we really need, the basic necessities of life we still have. God has never failed to give us these.
God has actually given us more than the basic things in life. We have television sets, boats and “convenience foods.” Many of us have two or more cars. Many take vacations and cruises. If we are honest, most would have to admit that God has given us many luxuries.
That’s why Jesus, in Matthew 6, calls us not to worry about what we will eat or drink, or about what we will wear. Jesus argues that since God takes care of the birds of the air, surely He will take care of us. Since God has given us the greater gift of life, surely He will take care of our lesser needs, food and drink and clothing.
The struggle we often face with this is how so often it might look like God has forgotten about us. You lost your job when the company went through cut-backs, and you wonder how this could be God’s plan for you. Your investments had a huge decrease in value and you wonder how you are going to retire now. You seem to have problem after problem with no end in sight, and you wonder where God and His promises to care for you are now.
At times like this, we look to the cross of Good Friday and the open and empty tomb of Easter morning. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, whose suffering and death on the cross paid the debt of sin we all have. By Jesus’ blood shed on the cross, our sin has been paid for and salvation has been won for us. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is proof that the victory has been won and is now given to us, through faith.
Now, to be sure, this good news of the Gospel can seem like foolishness. To human reason, it can seem all wrong that God should sacrifice His Son to save sinners of every kind. But this is the fact: salvation is entirely by God’s grace. God offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe. God offers to take us by the hand, lead and guide us, provide for all our needs, and when our last hour has come, take us home to be with Him in that heavenly mansion prepared for us. That’s the sure hope that is for all who trust in Jesus, His death and resurrection, for their salvation.
You see, we never need to anxiously ask, “What shall we eat or drink or wear?” We simply trust that the faithful Lord, who sent us the Savior of the world, will also, with that Savior, freely give us all good things that we need. We can cast care away. We no longer need to worry. We simply trust on the eternal, almighty, omniscient, merciful, loving Lord who cares for us all.
• “Sunday Sermon” is a forum for Emporia area ministers to share their sermons, thoughts and observations. This week’s sermon is from the Rev. Mark Eichler, pastor of Emporia’s Faith Lutheran Church.