07 August 2022

The Lord Jesus Is Faithful in All Things for Your Salvation

Dear little lamb of Jesus, have no fear!  Although you are small and weak, beleaguered, and mortal, you are more valuable to Christ Jesus than birds and flowers, more precious to Him than the ravens and the grass.  Has He not redeemed you for Himself, purchased and won you with His own lifeblood?  And has He not made His God and Father your own dear God and Father?  Yes, indeed, this is most certainly true.  So, then, your Father shall not only feed you and clothe you, as He does for the rest of all His creatures, but He has gladly chosen to give you His Kingdom.

Do the work that He has given you to do, even as the birds live and the flowers grow.  Do your work faithfully, but do it in love for God and your neighbor, and not as though your life depended on it.  And do not work to get treasures for yourself on earth, which will not last but perish.

Whatever God places into your hands, extend to your neighbor in mercy, in the confidence that God will surely continue to feed and clothe you according to His gracious providence.  He knows your needs, and He well provides them.  Be content, therefore, with the food and clothing that He gives to you by His charity — for you are worthy of none of those things, and yet, He gives them to you by His grace alone.  And you, in turn, feed and clothe Christ Jesus in your neighbor’s need.

Do not seek and strive after food and drink and clothing for this body and life.  Do not make that labor your righteousness, and do not make those temporal goods your treasure and your god.

But do seek the Kingdom of the one true God in Christ Jesus.  Not by work and worry, but by faith in the Gospel — in the clothing of Christ, with which He has clothed you in Holy Baptism, and in the Food and Drink of Christ, as you recline and rest here at His Table where He serves you.

Fix your heart and mind, your eyes and ears, your body, soul, and spirit on Him.  For the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, is your true and lasting Treasure — an unfailing Treasure in heaven — who has come down to earth for you and freely gives Himself to you here and now.

As He has done so, and as He continues to do so within His Church — and as the Father has not withheld His only-begotten and well-beloved Son from you, but has given Him for you — have no fear, but know that the true and only God gives Himself and all good things to you in Christ.

Though you do not yet see Him with your eyes, behold Him by faith in the Gospel, in His means of grace and forgiveness, and trust His great mercy and salvation.  You will not be disappointed.

Do not worry about what you will wear, but be dressed in readiness for Christ the Lord, clothed in His righteousness by His grace.  And keep your lamps lit, your loins girded, knowing that His Passover is at hand, the Sacrifice of His Body and Life having been offered once-for-all.

Do not worry about what you will eat or drink, but recline here at your Master’s Table, where He comes and girds Himself to serve you.  Here He washes your dirty feet and waits on you in love.  Here He is not only your Host, but your Waiter and your Meal, your Meat and Drink indeed.

Like a Thief in the night He comes, by the way and the means of His Cross, with the Fruits of His Cross, given and poured out for you, the Body and Blood of this true Lamb of God who was slain for your Salvation.  “See, His Blood now marks our door; faith looks to it, death passes o’er.”

Pharaoh is undone.  Egypt is plundered.  Even Satan, strong though he be, is bound and cast out.

For here is the true Solomon, the Son of David, the King of Righteousness, the King of Peace.  And not only that, but He is your great and merciful High Priest forever, who brings in bread and wine, who blesses God and blesses you, and who feeds you such a great Feast that you could never have imagined.  Neither could all your work and worry ever spread such a Table as this one, which Christ has prepared for you by His own Cross and Passion.

Here is the true and promised Seed of Abraham, in whom all the promises of God are fulfilled, by whom all the nations of the world are blessed, by whose righteousness you are made righteous, being justified by His grace through faith in His Gospel.

So, then, do not be afraid.

Though you have been fearful, He has been steadfast.  Though you may yet be terrified, He has already prevailed for you and for all; and for you and for all He remains, forever and forevermore.

Though you have been anxious and worried about many things, He has been faithful in all things — in your stead and on your behalf.  And He is still faithful.  All that He has promised, He does, and He will do — for you and your salvation.

Though you have not been watching, waiting, and alert, He has been ready, willing, and able at all hours of the day and night.  From the rising of the sun even to its going down, and through all the watches of the night, He is and ever has been vigilant in His care for you, just as He has gone to the Cross for you, and risen from the dead for you, and ever lives to make intercession for you, and reigns over you in love for all eternity.

This greater Solomon — in all His Glory — has fasted and gone without food for His Body; for His food is to do the Will of His Father, and He has hungered for His Father’s Kingdom and His Father’s Righteousness, in order that you might be fed in His Peace.

This greater Solomon — in all His Glory — has thirsted, even unto death, that He might pour out the living Water of His Holy Spirit generously upon you, and cleanse you and quench your thirst with the Life-giving River of holy Water and royal Blood from His open heart and wounded side.

And, dearly-beloved child of God, as the Lord Jesus has opened His heart to you, know that you are His treasure, and He is now and ever with you where you are.

This greater Solomon — in all His Glory — has gone naked in open public shame, that He might clothe you with His garments of divine Sonship and eternal Salvation.

Listen to His Word, and take to heart what He says and promises: Christ Jesus has come, and He has opened the door to you.  Here within His Holy House, He has girded Himself to serve you.  So, recline here at His Table, and receive what you did not expect:  Food from His hand.  Drink from His Cup.  Life from His death.  Perfect Peace, instead of endless worries and frustrations.  Safety from all that has frightened you and hounded you.  Sabbath Rest from all your labors.

Here is your true Fatherland, the Country you’ve been waiting for.  Here is the City of the living God, and here is your Father’s House, whose Architect and Builder is Christ Jesus, your Savior, to whom be all the glory, honor, worship, and thanksgiving, now and forever.

In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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