Luther on Faith

Psalm 45 10
Little daughter, look closely! Turn your ear toward me, forget your people and your father's house.

Martin Luther wrote, "faith is a fragile thing, and needs to hear the command to 'forget your father's house.' Something inside of us strongly compels us to keep trying to earn God's approval. We look for good works in which we can place our trust and with which we will earn God's praise. We want to show God what we have done, and say, 'Look, I have done this or that thing for you, so you must give me your approval!' But none of us should ever be overconfident when it comes to good works, for each of us carries in our hearts a horrible religious fanatic. We want to be able to do something so spectacular that we can boast of what we've done with our prayers and good works. Worse, we become complacent, thinking we've done more than enough for today and we can feel at peace. This has happened to me in the past, after I've accomplished something in my ministry. I'm pretty much happier than if I had done nothing and truthfully being happy isn't wrong in itself. However this kind of Joy's has no lasting value because it isn't based on faith. It's the kind of joy that can confuse your conscience, and frankly the conscience is delicate enough without burdening it with false idols. So we need to guard against the sin of arrogance. We cannot become overconfident. Rather, we should confess Christ always, walk in fear, and grow in faith!" I love that final quote of Luther: confess Christ always, walk in fear and grow faith. Some were once so cocksure about their lives and futures in this world that when the least little thing then comes along it knocks us right off our pedestals!. As bad as this Covid pandemic was, we weathered it in pretty good shape. But over the course of this pandemic we have also been willing to give up our livelihoods, friends, family, relationships, even our church! We have given up these things because we don't think they are really that important, or at least not as important as being safe! Perhaps it is time for us also to 'confess Christ, walk in fear and to grow in faith.' I don't know a better way to grow in faith than to first understand and appreciate all that God has done for us, and second learn how to say thank you for the gifts He has given. Thanksgiving is the next major holiday coming up, and there is a lot to be thankful for! For sure we can spend time pondering the things we have lost, grieving , feeling sorry for ourselves, but none of that changes the fact that we are probably the most blessed people in human history! We are the best fed, the healthiest, live the longest lives, our families and friends are for the most part intact and well taken care of. Some of you might think this nation is going in the wrong direction, and yet, right now, we are a nation at peace, the stock market is expanding so fast we can't keep up, but most of us have had monse thrown at us from places we don't never expected. It is always easier to find reasons to complain about rather than to give thanks for, but we should stop and remember that Christians are first and foremost a thankful people., And in giving thanks, we learn two things about ourselves. First, almost everything that we have comes as a result of God giving it to us as a gift. And second, we should stop focusing only on the the gifts, and give thanks to The Giver!