Luther on Grace

Galatians 3:23
We were kept under control by the law until faith came. We were under this control until this Faith which was about to come would be revealed.

Martin Luther writes, "Grace is present when your heart is restored by the promise of God's mercy. Then your heart can say along with the author of Psalm 42, 'O my soul why are you troubled and restless? Do you only see the law, sin, terror, sadness, despair, death, hell, and the devil? Aren't grace, forgiveness of sin, righteousness, comfort, joy, peace, life, heaven, and God present as well? Stop being troubled, my soul!'

For what are the law, sin, and everything evil compared to God's grace and mercy? Trust in God who did not spare his only son, but offered him up to death on a cross for your sins!"

It seems to me that the things that lent fear to the people of Luther's time, are things we barely consider in ours. Yet we are as much afraid as they were! We spend much of our time hoping politicians can save us from ourselves, that some miracle of science will save us from the looming ecological disaster we have all participated in, that our families stressed and broken apart by the Powers and Principalities of this world might somehow be healed without any pain or sacrifice...yet we know every night as we go to bed, with our hearts aflutter and our breathing shallow, that these troubles will not go away on their own, they will not be resolved simply by wishful thinking.

So the answer to our fears, both real and imagined, is the same for us as it was for the people of Luther's time. But honestly, what are these fears when laid aside the grace and mercy of God? The God who did not spare his only son, but offered him up for us all on a cross , will He withhold anything less? If this sounds familiar, is should, for it is the proclamation our brother Saint Paul made in his letter to the Roman church 2000 years ago (chapter 8) . We need to start living our lives according to Luther's simple dictum, trust in God! For when we do, life will seem so much sweeter, and the problems of this world, so much smaller!