Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Do you know
where you are going? And
if you do, do you know how to get there? Do you know where you are going in
life, do you know what your future holds?
For our lives
here on earth, we cannot, with absolute clarity, know where we are going or how
we will get there. Life is full of changes, new jobs, new homes, new
relationships. We receive new things which give us joy and happiness, and other
things which once brought joy are taken away. We are surprised with new
opportunities, doors open which we thought were closed, but we are also
surprised when doors we thought were open are rudely shut in our faces. We can
unexpectedly take a turn for the worse, our health can fail, or injury can
arise. But we can also receive unexpected healing, or remarkable strength of body
and will, living past what wise professionals expect and amazing those around
us.
No, we cannot
fully know the path our lives here on earth will take, we cannot know where
life will take us. We take our best guess and run with it, working hard and
making the best plans we can with the knowledge given to us. No for our lives,
here on earth our foresight is impaired and unclear. But what is unclear to us
is clear to God, and The Father sent the Son to open our eyes.
“Do not let
your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." Peace, Do
not be troubled, Jesus comforts his disciples like this after telling them that
he will die. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also
in me. Jesus goes on to explain where this belief will lead, where this trust
and hope, this Faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the son of God, the one who
died to take away the sins of the world, Jesus explains where this Faith will
lead all those who call on his name.
In my Father’s
house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I
am, there you may be also.
By His death on
the cross Jesus, true man and true God died in your place. The punishment for
your sins against God and your neighbor is death, but Christ the perfect
sacrifice died on your behalf, he died that you might live, he died that I
might live, Jesus died so that Tess lives.
By His death,
Jesus conquered death, he payed the cost for our room in heaven and he promises
to return to take us all with him. Last week Jesus took Tess, our sister in
Christ to be with him, joyfully, eternally. Tess was a baptised into the name
of the triune God. God's seal was placed on her and through that baptism,
Jesus, the way , the truth and the life enacted God's life giving grace in her.
Tess confirmed her trust in God and his promises, for the comfort of her soul
she repented and heard the forgiveness of all her sins proclaimed; she received
the body and blood of Jesus, to strengthen her body and soul to life eternal.
We can never judge the state of another, But we can trust God's words that he
is faithful to all who call on his name.
This life is
for now, this freedom from sin and the clear direction that our eternal lives
will take gives us hope for each day. As we take each day as it comes planning
our earthly future we trust in God that our eternal future is secure in Him. He
is watching over us now through our actions each day just as he will once we have
died and live with him eternally in his peaceful joyful presence. The
forgiveness we receive through Christ strengthens us to live our daily lives
humbly, trusting in God alone for every good thing and relying on him to get us
through life's challenges. And the Hope which we have in life eternal helps us
to shoulder our burdens, knowing that Christ has gone on ahead of us, he has
walked our path, suffered our temptations and on our behalf he came out
victorious. He showed us the way in which we should walk and told us the place
where we will go.
And we know it,
we know the way to the place where Jesus has gone, the place where all those
who were baptised in the triune name and placed their trust in Jesus have gone.
The way to life eternal, to our Father's house where there are many rooms, “Do
not let your hearts be troubled," Jesus is the way, Jesus is the truth,
and Jesus is the life, life now and life eternal.
The peace of
God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus
Amen.
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