St. Peter Lutheran Church
2929 F.M 972 (at F.M. 1105)
Walburg, Texas 78626

Office: (512) 863-5600
Worship Services - each Sunday 10:15 a.m.
Holy Communion - 1st & 3rd Sundays

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St. Peter Lutheran Church at Walburg, Texas
2018 - All Rights Reserved

Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ

Last Updated:
March 12, 2019

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

- Romans 5:6-8 (Message Translation)

None of us like feeling like we are indebted to anyone. We squirm when we have been given too fine a gift. We like to work to earn our keep rather than take "charity." We fight over who gets to pay the check at the restaurant. We like to think we earn our keep and deserve everything we've got. But deep down inside, if we think about it pretty honestly, we know this way of thinking is only a small part of the story.

Aviator Wilbur Wright made light of this when asked what recommendations he would give to a young person who wanted to achieve as much as he and his brother did. He stated, “If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio.” Of course, we all know this absurd. No one can pick out their parents and not all of us are lucky enough to have been born in Ohio; but Wright is correct that the biggest things in our life aren't because of anything we've done to earn them. The biggest things in life are gifts. We can water our gardens and farms; but that doesn't always mean they will provide. We can invest in friendships, but that doesn't always mean they will last. We can exercise, but each day is a gift. Don't get me wrong, work is something God loves, but it is a gift and not an idol. When we do the things that are part of God's plan, work's burdens are overcome by God's grace.

Now, why bring up all this stuff? Well, we are entering the season of Lent. Many people (even Christians) believe giving something up or taking something on can earn them salvation. But if denial or personal activity moves our vision towards something we do -- and away from the Cross -- it misses the point. The work, the suffering, the emptying of Lent is not something we do. It is a reminder of what God has done through the work, suffering, and emptying of the Second Person of the Trinity. None of us like feeling indebted to anyone, but there comes a time when we admit that the best things in life are when we were given something such as a chance at a fulfilling job or relationship that we still marvel at having.

This Lent let us not forget that God didn't send His Son to save the "good enough" or "potentially good enough" people. Jesus Christ saves people just like you and me – people who know there is a God who has paid our debt in full.

Pastor Phil

What Do You Plan to ‘Give Up’ for Lent? Why?