Want to tone your muscles without exercise? Stop by Walgreen’s and buy some electrodes –
as seen on TV – that you attach to your abdomen and thighs, and they will
tighten your muscles for you.
Want to make a six-figure salary today? For a small investment of $600, you could be
an Internet banker that facilitates automatic payments, while you reap the
hundreds of thousands others only dream of.
Want to meet the man or woman with whom to spend the
rest of your life? Go to the Fox TV
studios and be the bachelor or bachelorette of the month. Wait you want me to be more realistic? Then visit findyoursoulmate.com.
I understand why these and many other ways to make
life easier are appealing. Though it’s
been a while, when I first came to the United States, I stayed for 4 years
while going to school, and then went back to Kenya. I quickly and greatly missed the microwave, washing machine and
reliable utilities, among other things.
They all made life easier. In
this country, many, but not all, of us are blessed in that we live beyond
survival, and can seek ways to make life easier.
While I am a dietitian and would be happy to discuss
weight management with you, at this time I will speak with you about some
different ways to make life easier.
Look again at the first part of verse 1 from our reading
in Romans chapter 5: By faith we have been made acceptable to God. There are several phrases we could explore
piece by piece in that verse: “by faith,” “we,” “have been made,” “acceptable,”
“to God.” But since this is not a
Bible-study we will take the whole thing in one bite. God. You know, the
Almighty. The Creator who made us. Who rules the Universe. We are made acceptable to that
God. And we do not have to do a thing
really. Just believe it.
So when you think about the insecurities that you do not
want other people to know about, God finds you acceptable. When you think about the fact that if
someone really got to know you, he or she might be disappointed in what they
find and walk away, God finds you acceptable.
And when you think about the fact that your house or apartment is
smaller than that of most other people you know, God finds you acceptable. And hey, you have a place to live. And when you seem to make the same seeming
mistakes in life and get upset with yourself, God finds you acceptable. You are acceptable to God. How can you not be acceptable to
yourself? When I think about the fact
that I am acceptable to God, it helps release me from worrying about how I
appear to other people. And you know
what, that makes life easier. The second part of verse 1 says “and now because of
our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God.” Need I say more? Well,
yes. One of my gifts is the gift of gab
so I will say a little more! This
verse is the central story of our salvation as Christians: what our Lord Jesus
Christ did for us in His life, death and resurrection. We know that because of what He did we can
approach God ourselves and invite God the Creator, Jesus the Christ and the
Holy Spirit to come and fill our lives.
Once we do that we have peace. I
know this to be true: I live at peace with God through Jesus Christ, and am
looking at many of you whom I know do the same. If you are listening to me and do not really know Jesus, here is
what I suggest: starting today, make a daily request for peace in your life,
with God through Jesus Christ. Then
live like you have God in you. It will
make life easier.
Now look at the first part of verse 2. You know what? I love Bible study. I
love getting into the Word of God and looking at God’s letter to us piece by
piece. There are always little nuggets
of treasures to find and we learn new things.
The only thing better than sharing this message with you today would be
if it were interactive, like a Bible study.
But there is a different time and place for that. So on to verse 2. “Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on
which we take our stand.” Through
Christ we are introduced to God’s undeserved kindness.
This is the verse with which I had the most trouble
as I prepared for today. The first part
is clear: Christ bridged the way so we could communicate directly with God and
know that God hears us and answers us.
The part that troubled me was “God’s undeserved kindness.” Why is it “undeserved kindness”? God made us in God’s image. God has forgiven our sins - our poorer human
choices - through Christ. Why is the
kindness undeserved? Being treated
kindly is not a right, though God through Paul’s letter to the Galatians tells
us to be kind-hearted to each other.
But since the Bible is the inspired word of God, and God gives us free
will and a rational mind, I chose to focus on the fact that through Christ we
are introduced to God’s kindness.
God is the kindest creature I know ... and I know
lots of creatures. What does it mean
to be kind? Friendly. Generous.
Benevolent. Of a gentle
nature. Considerate. Yes, I see these characteristics exhibited
directly by God, when for example I feel the gentle rain when I am walking, or
more practically, when my car keeps on running. But more often I see the characteristics of kindness exhibited
through people who have God in their hearts and lives. I honestly believe that the more time you
spend with God, in God’s presence, the more you ask God to work through you,
and open your life to God, the more others will see God in you, and one of the
things they will see, is your kindness.
Your gentle nature. Your
generosity. Your consideration of
others.
The second part of verse 2 says “So we are happy, as we
look forward to sharing in the glory of God.”
I don’t know if we should say “Yikes” or “Hallelujah” to that. I know what to say about being happy, the
first part. I am all about being
happy. In this case however, we are
talking about being happy as we look forward to sharing in the glory of
God. Wow. We could all die from that – the glory of God. But well, when we share God’s glory we will
have technically died from this life.
Even then, the glory of God is an awesome thing. Can you imagine that? So day to day as we live, going through the mundane
details of life, we have the knowledge that we will be sharing in the glory of
God. Do you ever think about that? I do.
Often on Sunday mornings I have this vision. And actually I shared it with a couple of friends and they told
me there is a song about it. The vision
I have is this. That on Sunday mornings
especially, as we praise and worship the Lord, as we spend an hour focused on
glorifying God, that our congregation is joining in a huge chorus of other
worshippers from this country, from other countries around the world, and
perhaps the universe, at the throne of God.
And sometimes we are in harmony and sometimes not, but God loves and
needs us all, even our little part.
As you brush your teeth, be happy because you are
going to share in God’s glory. As you
drive to work, or scan the newspapers or Internet for work, think about sharing
God’s glory. As you exercise each day –
because I know you do, be happy because you are going to share in God’s
glory. I have to admit that I lean
toward being fearfully awed by the thought of sharing in God’s glory, but
overall I am happy about it. And it
does lift our lives here on earth to a different plane. When you have a headache, backache,
toothache or heartache that won’t quit, knowing that it won’t always be this
way makes life easier.
So speaking of aches, read verse 3 again with me:
“we gladly suffer because we know that suffering helps us endure. And endurance builds character, which gives
us a hope that will never disappoint us.”
Oh, yet another verse just ripe for at least an hour’s worth of Bible
study. Let’s start with the oxymoron,
“we gladly suffer.” Most of us do not
choose to suffer. Suffering is not
fun. A broken heart is not pleasant. Not being sure of your purpose in life is
not joyous. A flooded basement is no
reason to rejoice. Yet God, through
Paul goes on to say that “we gladly suffer because we know that suffering
helps us endure. Well that needs no
explanation. As we suffer, we usually
have no choice but to endure what we are going through until it ends. Thankfully most, if not all things, come to
an end.
And then we come to what we have all heard many
times, “endurance builds character.”
The best part though is that through all this we have a hope that will
never disappoint us. Did you hear
that? A hope that will never
disappoint us. Praise God. As we go through life, through the good, the
bad, the easy, the tough, the suffering, the joy, we have a hope in God through
Jesus, that will never disappoint us.
Hurray. Relax. It is all good. God has it all.
Really. And God will never
disappoint us.
The Bible adds to this wonderful message in the
second part of verse five: “all of this happens because God has given us the
Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with God’s love.” The Holy Spirit is with us all the time. In our hearts. You know that part that is touched when you hear a certain song
of worship, or a prayer? The little –
or sometimes big – tug you feel in your heart when you are thinking about God,
that is the Holy Spirit in your heart.
Of course as Teena explained a couple of weeks ago, God the Creator,
Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are one.
They each play a part in making our lives easier.
So pick up your Bible or bulletin once more and
let’s look at Romans chapter 5 again.
By faith we have been made acceptable to God. Pause. Acceptable to God. Who else matters?
Through the Lord Jesus Christ we live at peace with
God. Pause. At peace with God. What else matters?
Christ also introduces us to God’s undeserved
kindness. Pause. If we have God’s
kindness, we have everything we need.
We will be sharing in the glory of God. Pause. God considers us worthy to share God’s
glory. Hello! Don’t call me Susan, call me Princess Susan because I am royalty
in God’s eyes. You are each princes and
princesses.
And even while we suffer, we have a hope that will
never disappoint us. Pause.
Let me say that again please.
While we suffer, we have a hope that will never disappoint us.
God gives us the Holy Spirit to be with us in our
hearts and guide us. Pause.
Listen to God in your heart
and base your decisions on what you know in your heart. Surely that makes life easier. There are no bad decisions: only the best
that you can make as you listen to God through the Holy Spirit.
You know I have to close by reminding you that God
loves you and does not want your life to be difficult. God wants you to have a peaceful life and that
is entirely possible. Ask God and
stand on the promises God has made in the reading we had this morning and in
many other places in the Bible. Life
can be easier. Amen.
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