/Give thanks to Yahweh; call on His Name; cause His deeds to be known
among the people. Sing to Him, praise Him with an instrument; speak on
all His wonders. You glory in His holy name; may the heart of the
seekers of Yahweh rejoice. Seek after Yahweh and His strength; you seek
His face continually. Remember the wonders which He accomplished; His
miracles and the judgments of His mouth. Seed of Abraham, His servant;
you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is Yahweh, our God; in all the
earth–His judgments. He has remembered, forever, His covenant; the Word
He ordered to a thousand generations. Which He cut with Abraham; and His
oath to Isaac. And He caused it to stand to Jacob, to be a statute; to
Israel–a covenant forever. Saying: "To you, I give the land of Canaan;
the measuring line of your inheritance.
/
There's a lot of talk about *seeking the Lord* in churches today; but
not all of it is about seeking Him the right way. So much of the
*seeking God* movement in Christendom today places all the burden on
man. That's the error doubting Thomas made. He thought that he would
have to see Jesus with his eyes, touch His wounds with his hands, or
else he couldn't believe. But it was Jesus Who sought out Thomas, and at
the Savior's first words, Thomas stopped trying to *do* something to
seek Jesus.
When people seek on their own, they seek for all the wrong reasons. Many
seek out God to do something to make them look better to themselves & to
others. You too may seek God for *your name's* sake, to increase your
personal prestige, pride & popularity. You seek Him so your praise from
others might increase–for the sake of your own glory. You treat Him as a
beck & call God, expecting Him to give you what you want, without taking
the time to investigate what He might think is actually best for you.
The God sought by faith alone is all about *His* Name. Not that He is
prideful, though He has every reason to be. He gives you His name to
call upon in every trouble, to pray, praise & give thanks. He even gives
you the glory of His holy name in baptism. His name becomes yours as
well, that His glory be your glory. For in holy baptism you were
cleansed from your sins, which were washed from you to the + of Jesus.
That day you were made holy as God is holy. The glory of His holy Name
is yours forevermore.
A second way people wrongly seek God on their own is when they seek His
word. Like Thomas, we are tempted to pick & choose which words we will
believe, and which we won't. You too seek out words from scripture that
would seemingly make you stronger. You will tend toward words of God's
Law which speak about you and what you do or don't do. You may struggle
and strive to do enough, but keep failing again & again. You look then
to God's Own supposed strength as your example, yet fail to measure up
to it.
But the God sought by faith alone is not found saving us in the
appearance of strength, but in what surely seems like great weakness.
The God & creator of the universe makes Himself vulnerable, taking on
the form of human flesh. He is crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross,
and pierced through in death. The strength of God is truly made perfect
in weakness. Jesus is the Word made flesh Who proclaims to you the
*gospel* judgment– that in His death you are made worthy of the promised
inheritance of the covenant.
A third way many seek after God improperly on their own is when they
expect the wrong kinds of works from God. Like Thomas, we want God to
act on our terms, as though we know better than Him. We want a
miraculous healing, a financial windfall, an unusual spiritual gift, or
the perfect mate. You probably pray for such things yourself, wanting a
worldly wonder which would help out your earthly life in the here & now.
But you know that such desires are very short-sighted at best.
For the God sought by faith alone is known by His greatest deeds of all:
His miraculous sacraments. His works, wondrous & miraculous as they are,
appear small & simple. In the plain water & word of Holy Baptism He
makes you born again, born anew, born from above to life eternal. His
great forgiveness is proclaimed through the words of ordinary men who
absolve you. Mere bread & wine He uses to deliver His Own precious body
& shed blood from the + to forgive you all of your sins.
Indeed, we walk by faith, not by sight. So Jesus gives the blessed
invitation to you to seek Him by faith alone. Such seeking finds Him
only where He has chosen to be found. Jesus is found in His deeds which
accomplish the miraculous wonder of your forgiveness in His body &
blood. Jesus is found in His Name bestowed to save you in Holy Baptism.
Jesus is found in His Word, the voice of Jesus proclaiming you judged as
absolutely forgiven & made worthy to inherit the riches of heaven. Amen.
John C. Drosendahl, Pastor
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