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| Where are the Rocks? (Isaiah 2:3b, 5b) |
| Written by Martin Brieschke | |
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“He will teach us His ways, so we may walk in His paths. Let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Is. 2: 3b, 5b) Three guys (I’ll call them Larry, Moe, & Curley) get in a boat and go out on the lake to fish. After a short while, Larry says, “I’m hungry. I’m going back to shore to get a sandwich.” He steps over the side of the boat and walks right across the water to the shore. A little while later he returns, walking across the water again and back into the boat. A few minutes later Moe says he’s thirsty and does exactly the same thing: stepping out of the boat and walking across the water to get his drink and returning by the same route. Curley is amazed. He can’t believe these two guys can walk on water. Well, not too long after that, the three are running out of bait. Not wanting his friends to think he can’t walk on water too, Curley volunteers to walk to shore and get more. He steps out of the boat and immediately sinks. Larry turns to Moe and says, “Do you think we should tell him where the rocks are?” Learning where the rocks are can make a big difference in where we walk. “Our mission at Our Savior Lutheran School is to not only teach students how to walk, but also where to walk.” In effect, what we do is help children learn where the rocks are, where the sure footing is to use as a foundation for their lives. This year we’ve tied that idea into our theme. We’ve asked our students to strive to be “J-Walkers”, that is, those who walk in Jesus path. I believe as mature members of God’s church on earth it is our mission as well to continue to learn how to walk and where to walk AND to share that information with all who don’t know Jesus’ paths. A few moments ago our students went through a list of 10 rocks we can use as a foundation. They recited the 10 commandments. While most of the commandments seem to be written as where NOT to go, each has a meaning that can be stated positively as where we should go. • We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. • We should call on God’s name in every trouble; we should praise Him and give Him thanks. • We should hold God’s Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Those first three foundation rocks focus on our relationship to our God, reminding us He is #1; He deserves our praise; He should be regularly and gladly worshipped. And then there is our relationship with our fellow man. • We should honor, serve, and obey our parents and those in authority. • We should help and support our neighbors in need. • We should lead sexually pure and decent lives in what we say and do. • We should help our neighbor improve and protect his property and business. • We should verbally defend our neighbors, speak well of them, and explain their actions in the kindest ways. • We should encourage our neighbors’ spouse and workers to stay and do their duty, and be of service to our neighbor is keeping their spouse and workers. Of course you may know all that as Jesus second great commandment – “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Now there’s some stepping stones that are worth stepping on! There are some principles to hang your hat on. If the bulk of the people in the world walked in those paths, the nightly news wouldn’t have much to report. We followed our students’ recitation of the commandments with our own profession of faith. Once again, a basic rock on which to build a life that follows Jesus. The first paragraph – also know as the first article - reminds us that God the father is the author of our life, the one who gives us everything we need to support our body and life. I like to tell children and adults that our very being is NOT AN ACCIDENT. God chose us to be endowed with all the gifts we have. He chose us to be a part of a special family that is just perfect for us. He has a plan of how He can use us in this world to partner with Him in His work. The same is true for us adults as well. And then Jesus walked the ultimate path, the one path we cannot walk. He did it for us – you, me, each of these children, and even those who don’t know where any of the rocks are. Jesus took upon himself every poor step we’ve made in this life – and will make. He suffered for every slip of our foot (or tongue, or hand) so we wouldn’t have to. He died and went to hell to overcome the power of the devil. He rose victorious so each of us can rise at the last day and walk the paths of heaven. But God did not stop there. In His divine wisdom He knew that we would constantly need help to stay on the path He would have us walk. God sends each of us His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts; to call, gather, enlighten and sanctify not only us but the whole Christian church on earth. The Holy Spirit keeps us in the one true faith. Through the Spirit we can daily recognize God’s forgiveness. And on the last day, He will raise me and all the dead, and give me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true. We know where a lot of the rocks already are. It should be our mission to learn even more about how to walk. It should be our mission to learn as much as we can about where to walk. It should be our mission to put that knowledge into practice in our daily walk of life. It should be our mission to share that Good News with all with whom we come into contact. When we do; when we walk in the light of the Lord; when we live truly believing our sins are forgiven and then forgiving others; we can begin to see the world in a new light – God’s light. We can begin to count the numerous blessings he sends our way – including the blessings that may not seem so good at the time but prepare us for His work in the future. May God grant us all the ability to not only learn how to walk, but also where to walk and share that knowledge and joy with others. Amen. Now may the peace of God that surpasses all our human understanding keep our hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. |