Saturday and Sunday Lenten devotions Heaven - Saturday
Read: Revelation 19:1-9; 21:1-5
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and
they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev.
21:3)

The greatest joy of the Garden of Eden was the overt presence of God with
man. His departure was the greatest curse of Paradise lost; for without the Lord
of life, there is only death.

Heaven is the hope of the Christian, made both possible and certain by the
incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. And look at
the language used to describe it in Revelation. The tree of life is there (Rev.
22:2), because heaven is the perfect paradise of Eden regained. It's described as
the tabernacle of God with man (21:3), but the Lord is no longer hidden behind
a curtain; in fact, there is no need for sun or moon, because the Lamb—Christ—
is the light of heaven. This is the entire curse of sin fully removed: the people of
God dwell in His glory forever. The Lord's holiness doesn't harm them—far
from it! Because the Lord is present, “God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no
more pain, for the former things have passed away” (21:4).

There's another description of heaven: it's called the marriage feast of the
Lamb (19:9). The Church is the Bride of Christ, whom He has died to redeem
(Eph. 5:25); we are already betrothed to Him, and the endless wedding
celebration is guaranteed.

As part of my seminary education, I served a one-year vicarage in San
Antonio, Texas. I was engaged to be married at the time, and my bride-to-be
was teaching in the thriving metropolis of Elsberry, Missouri. It made for a
long, lonely year; and for those whose AT&T stock rose from our phone use, I
can only say, “You're welcome.” Twice, though, during that year, my future
wife flew down to Texas for a few days, and it made a big difference. As
important as it was to talk on a phone, it's far better to hold hands on a walk for
a while.

This is the life of the Bride of Christ, the Church. He has betrothed her to
Himself at the cost of His cross, and the wedding day is guaranteed. But in the
meantime, how does the Church survive? How has it endured centuries of
opposition, false doctrine, violence, war and persecution? The answer is this,
only this: the Bride of Christ remains alive because her Bridegroom comes and
visits her. He continually meets with her, keeping her cleansed of each spot and
stain by Holy Absolution, keeping her fed and strengthened unto that wedding
banquet everlasting with His Holy Supper.

The Bride remains, and the gates of hell will not prevail against her, because
her Bridegroom is eternally faithful and vigilant. He's already proved His
fidelity by the cost of His blood. And until He returns to raise her—you!—up
on the Last Day, He promises you: “Wherever two or three are gathered in My
name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

The Sin of the Sons The 4th Sunday in Lent
Read: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.'
(Luke 15:31)

We've reached the fourth Sunday in Lent, so we return to the Gospel lesson
for the day. Here Jesus tells the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” as it's been
named. That title is insufficient: this is a story of a father and his two sons.
Could the sons be any different from each other? Actually, yes; in fact, they
commit the exact same sin.

The prodigal is the better-known. He's the one who collects his share of the
inheritance while his father is still alive, then goes and wastes it on prostitutes
and parties. When the money runs out and the friends leave, he comes to realize
what a jerk he's been. So he works up his apology, which comes down to this:
“Father, I've forfeited the right to be your son; so hire me as your servant, and
I'll earn my keep from now on.” But his father will have nothing of it. Before the
son can get his entire speech on record, the father has him wearing the best robe
and ring in the house. The father's point: the prodigal son was never a son
because of his behavior. He was a son because...well, because he was a son. He
never earned the right: it was given to him as his birthright.

The older brother enters the story as the responsible son, weary from
working in the fields all day. He hears the celebration, finds out that his brother
is back, and refuses to go inside. He's protesting the party—why? As he explains
to his father, it's because he's been working hard around the house, but in all that
time he's never gotten a party like his worthless brother. That's unfair: after all,
the older brother has earned the right to be the son, right?

Wrong. It's the same sin as before. The younger son has thought, “My father
won't love me because I haven't earned his love.” The older son has thought,
“My father must love me more because I have earned his love.” Both sons have
accused their father only of loving them because of their works—because of
what they do. In each case, the father must set them straight: he must tell them
that he loves them because they are his sons; and they are his sons not because
they've earned the right, but because the right was given them by birth.
Thus goes the kingdom of heaven. At times, you will be so acutely aware of
your sin that you'll be tempted to think that you haven't earned the right for God
to love you—and therefore you'd better do some good works before you can
expect God's love. At other times, you'll be tempted to believe that God must
love you now because you've been getting better at following Him—and so
you've earned His love. Both of these beliefs are the sin of the sons: both declare
that God's love for you depends on your actions, your works, and that you earn
the right to be His child.

Not so. You haven't earned the right to be God's child: you never could.
You're God's beloved child because Christ has purchased you from sin, death
and devil. You've been born into God's family not by your works, but by His
work in Holy Baptism. And now He declares to you solely for Jesus' sake: “You
are always with me, and I with you...and all that I have is yours.”  ¶ 3/18/2007 06:13:00 AM 0 Comments