DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

A Father’s Love. It’s Not About You.

Happy Father’s Day to you fathers. Your father says to you: “Help your mother,” and then later, “Let me help you!” What’s the difference? The first is a command that he wants you to obey, and depending on your response you get rewarded or punished. The second is an invitation for you to be the passive recipient of your father’s love and desire to help you.

In the Bible God reveals himself as three distinct divine persons yet one divine essence. Christians call it the Trinity. He is God the Holy Spirit, God the Son and God the Father. God the Father loves us perfectly, provides for all that we need, wants all sinners to be saved, sends the Son to save and the Holy Spirit to convert, and glorifies all who believe in him. He gives laws for us to obey. We don’t! He commands, “Love me first.” We can’t. We are born sinful and outside of God’s family. We are like the child who says, “No, I don’t want to help mom.”

Good news: God adopted us as his children through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:5; 1Jo 3:1) He’s like the good father who says, “Do what I ask,” and when we fail he says, “Let me help you.” So he sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sins. He sends the Holy Spirit to empower us to say, “Jesus is my Savior and Lord.” The means/tools for this are God’s Word and Sacraments (Baptism, Lord’s Supper).

Being baptized is not about you – you obeying a law or command from the Father so you can boast how devoted you are or what YOU have done. Baptism is not what you do for God. Baptism is how God adopts you as one of his children and gives you his name (Mat 28:19). He assures you that your sins are washed away and forgiven. When you are baptized you are the passive recipient of the Father’s love and desire to help you.

“Baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge [from God] of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1Pe 3:21)

“God saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Tit 3:5-7)

Do you see law in these? No. Rather, it’s the good news of what God the Father DOES to love, help and save you. Baptism is not your act of obedience or a public demonstration of something you did for God.

Praise your Father in heaven for how he helps you through your baptism every day.

Come, worship with us on Sundays at 10 am.