Today’s Scripture

Psalm 92   Ezekiel 17:22-24        2 Corinthians 5:1-10  Mark 4:26-34

 

            In the game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” a contestant already has a prize.  It is something certain that he/she can see and hold in hand.  But behind one door is another prize, one that is far greater in value.  Behind another door is nothing.  It becomes a guessing game, taking a chance, what is behind the door.  Even when the decision is made, there is no confidence of what the open door will reveal. 

 

            But a child running up to grandma and grandpa’s door is different.  That child already knows what is behind the door.  And that child is eager to open the door and go in.  There is no hesitancy there.  When the words, “Let’s go to grandma and grandpa’s house,” are heard, the child is eager to leave his familiar household behind and go to grandma and grandpa’s for what he knows and trusts is there.

 

            Over the previous Sundays we have been following Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.  Two weeks ago he reminds us that we are jars of clay, canning jars.  What makes a jar valuable is what is inside.  Inside the jar of a Christian is the good news of Jesus Christ as Savior.  Last Sunday Paul continued instructing how important it is to openly confess that treasure, to strengthen each other in that treasure and to let others know the treasure so they too will believe and receive that treasure too.

 

Today’s message is to walk by this faith in the unseen and not by what we can see in this world.  God reassures you that this faith is not a guessing game like the different doors on “Let’s Make a Deal.”  Instead, faith is being confident as that grandchild is approaching the door to his grandparents’ home.  Faith is being confident in God’s promises even though we cannot physically see them.  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  [Hebrews 11:1]

 

            It is because we have this faith that we groan while in this earthly life.  We groan because we know what we should be but cannot be at the moment.  We groan because we know we will receive what is behind that door, but it isn’t here yet.  In Christian faith and in the gifts given in baptism in that faith, we are given new spiritual lives.  The old Adam in us is replaced with the new person in Christ who, in this faith, strives to do our Father’s will. 

 

We know that this earthly life is temporal.  As it passes, all things that are of this earth will pass also.  Christians long for the heavenly dwelling that Jesus, at this very moment, is preparing just as he promised.  At the beginning of this passage we are reminded of Jesus, the carpenter, who with his skilled hands is building that room in his father’s mansion.  Paul reminds us we are going to be clothed with that heavenly home. 

 

            Meanwhile, Paul says, we do not want to be naked.  Nakedness exposes all imperfections.  When Adam and Eve sinned they saw that nakedness and tried to cover it up with leaves.  Those leaves were makeshift and would not last.  God, in his loving-kindness and in a show of what is in store, clothed Adam and Eve with skins of animals, clothes that would last.  At life’s end, God is going to clothe believers in Christ forever, restoring the perfection lost in Eden.  Believers will be clothed with Jesus’ righteousness, being made one in and with him and all the faithful.  So you can be sure of this, God gives his spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing that this gift will be yours forever.

 

When you want something held for you in a store, you make a deposit that guarantees that you will fulfill your promise.  The store, in turn, guarantees to you that the item will be there when you return.  The earthly gifts that God gives are a reminder of the eternal gifts he has in store for you.  The gift of his spirit, working faith in your heart, creating the will for the perfection God promises, is the deposit he gives you, guaranteeing the promises he is going to fulfill when he takes you to eternity.  You know you have it as you struggle with that new will that is contrasted by the realities in this sinful world and the old Adam that needs to be washed away daily in repentance, faith and baptism.

 

So, we walk by faith, always trusting what is behind the door marked by the cross of Christ.  It is only by Jesus’ death and resurrection that sinners have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  It is through the gifts of baptism that believers are reassured daily of the washing of sins and regeneration in the new life God gives.  It is through Jesus’ body and blood, given and shed for you, that you receive the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life that come in that very body and blood alone.  It is by hearing the word of Jesus that faith is established and continually renewed and strengthened through the tensions in this earthly life. 

 

            Because of God’s great love for you and in faith that he will restore to you the joy of his salvation, you will continue to trust in what you cannot see.  You will live the unseen life, being confident in his promises to provide for all in this life and eternal life that is to come.  Living the unseen life is seeking to please God by carrying out his commands, to love him above all things and to love our neighbor as he has loved us.  Christians live the unseen life by doing good works, not to earn salvation, but to share the joy of knowing salvation with others through that “see-able” witness to them. 

 

As brothers and sisters in Christ you will continue to strive to live according to God’s commands and to share his love with others as he has given all of his love to you.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, others will see the love of God in you through the things he gives you to do.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, as you struggle with the temporary things of this tent of a life you have now, you are confident in the permanent and complete life Jesus is preparing for you to have when he comes to take you to be with him.                             

 

Amen.