Sermons for the Month

God is SO Gracious That…
DATE: July 24th, 2005
SERVICE: 10th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Romans 8:26-39
“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

This morning I'll begin with a story. It's titled "Two Babes in a Manger" and the author is unknown. The time is 1994 and the setting is Russia where two Americans were teaching Biblically based morals and ethics at an orphanage that housed 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned to the care of a government-run program.

It was December and the Americans decided to teach, for the first time, the story of the birth of Jesus. Children sat on the edges of their stools, listening in amazement. Then, to make the story more real, they embarked on a simple craft project, assembling mangers that held babies cut from felt.

A little boy named Misha had finished his project, and when the Americans looked at it they were surprised to see two babies in the manger. They called for a translator and asked why this was so. The boy began by retelling the Christmas story, which he did with surprising accuracy considering the fact that he had only heard it once. But when he came to the point where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger, he began to ad-lib. He made up his own ending of the story, and it went something like this:

When Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and no papa, so I don't have a place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I did not have a gift to give him like everyone else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I keep him warm, that would be a good gift. So, I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"

And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm that will be the best gift that anyone ever gave me." So, I got in the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me that I could stay with him - for always.

As little Misha finished his story, he began to cry. The little boy had found someone who would never abandon him, someone who would stay with him - for always. (1)

That little boy intuitively knew the spiritual truth revealed in Romans 8 - that God is SO gracious that nothing can separated us from his love in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is with us - for always.

Somehow today's New Testament reading - actually all of Romans 8 - has become a favorite of mine. In fact, it's a portion of the Bible that I someday hope to memorize. I'm still working on that.

At various times in my life what is promised in Romans 8 has been significant to me, and I believe these words can be helpful to anyone who has faced illness, loss, relationship challenges, confusion about the direction to take, economic woes or anything else that makes us wonder if and how God is at work in our midst. In the portion we read today there are many "gems" that warrant remembering. I would like to point them out to you.

"The Spirit helps us in our weakness…," Paul says. That is, of course, the Holy Spirit who is within each one of us. God is SO gracious that we not only are given the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit, and thus access to forgiveness and salvation that we don't deserve, but God also has the grace to hear the prayers that we don't know how to pray. I will admit to you that there have been times in my life when, had you paid me to pray, I would have been unable to do so. But God has "covered" such times; when we are too overwhelmed or confused to pray, the Spirit speaks to God on our behalf. AND, not only does the Holy Spirit pray for us but adapts those prayers to fit the will of God. It's a no lose situation! I don't know about you, but I find that to be immensely comforting.

Then we are told that even when all seems hopeless, God is SO gracious that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Now, as we consider these words, let me repeat again what I have said before now because it's so important.

Paul is not implying that in every tragedy one can find meaning or goodness. While it's true that positive things can happen in the midst of difficulty - like people coming together to support one another or the Holy Spirit enabling people to face what seems impossible - it is not true that everything happens for a reason or that bad events occur so that some kernel of goodness might be revealed. There are times when it is nearly impossible to give meaning to that which seems senseless.

I thought of this while I was watching a news report this week about a young man who was shot to death in Akron last weekend. His family was, of course, overwhelmed by grief. For them it was helpful to find meaning in his death by saying that he died so that others might come to faith in Jesus Christ. While I respect them and feel sorrow for their loss, I would be inclined to say that if others come to faith because of his death, it's a positive, Spirit-led event that happened in the midst of tragedy. But, it's not the reason he died. He died because of a senseless act of violence, or carelessness, when I gun was fired into a crowd. He was in the wrong place and the wrong time.

So, then, what does Paul mean when he says that all things work together for good? Remember what I often say; we should always put passages of scripture into their context and be very careful about "plucking out" a verse here or there to make a particular point or fit a situation. In this case, the context helps us grasp his words. Throughout Chapter 8 he is remembering that, because of human choice, the world is not what God intended it to be. Sin corrupted the world and its people. But through Jesus all is forgiven, and we are joint heirs with Christ.

We talked about what that means last week. On the day of the heavenly harvest, when Jesus returns, we will inherit the perfect, harmonious world that God intended for us in the first place. So, Paul's words, "All things work together for good", are a confession of faith. He is confident that the future is in God's hands, that our redemption is assured through Jesus.

That's why when he talks about those whom God "foreknew" and "predestined" he is not saying that some people are chosen to be saved, and some are not. What he is saying is that God knows our destiny, and it sure looks good. In the big picture, in the ultimate sense, "All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God's purpose."

To me, looking at the big picture moves those words beyond attepting to explain the challenges of life - which can at times be a stretch that ends up discrediting God - and focuses our attention on what's ultimately important. God's reign is coming.

In the meantime, though, we must live in this imperfect world. And, as we do, God is SO gracious that there nothing here that can get in the way of his love for us.

Paul makes it clear that if God is for us, it really does not matter who is against us because no one - indeed nothing - has the power to stop God's purposes. It's impossible to undo the work of Jesus. Remember our destiny? Remember all things work together for good in the ultimate sense?

One of my favorite parts of Romans 8 is the list at the end of ten potential adversaries. Some of them make us think twice. They are:

Death, which is inevitable and final

Life, which can be painful and grinding;

Angels, which probably refers to angelic forces opposed to God that are mentioned in the book of Revelation;

Rulers whose tyrannical actions have brought suffering to the world;

Things present and things to come, including the trials we face now and future fears;

Powers, which includes that which dominates and binds us - people, addictions, attitudes;

Height and depth, our great joys as well as our great sorrows.

In fact, nothing in all creation - absolutely nothing - can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. WOW! What might it mean if we really internalized that truth?

I began this sermon with the story of Misha, which is in many ways the story of us all. There are times when the circumstances of our lives cause us to feel abandoned. It's a painful reality. But, what was true for that little boy in Russia is true for us - God's love in Jesus is for always.
AMEN
(1) Gray, Alice, Stories for a Faithful Heart, Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, OR, 2000, pgs. 186-187.