Sunday, April 28, 2013

A Simple Quiz

Consider the last two verses of "Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" by Luther.

9 - "Now to My Father I depart, from earth to heav'n ascending.
And, heavn'ly wisdom to impart, the Holy Spirit sending;
In trouble He will comfort you and teach you always to be true
And into truth shall guide you.

10 - "What I on earth have done and taught guide all your life and teaching;
So shall the kingdom's work be wrought and honored in your preaching.
But watch lest foes with base alloy the heav'nly treasure should destroy;
This final word I leave you."

So, when you hear "heavn'ly wisdom", "teach you always to be true", "into truth shall guide you", "What I on earth have done and taught", "the kingdom's work", "the heav'nly treasure" -- what do you think of first?

Do you think of Christ Jesus and the salvation He has won... or do you think of instruction and exhortation to how to live a good life?

I'd contend that the answer ought to be Christ.  The plan of salvation is heavenly wisdom, He is the Truth, He is the one who won salvation, and the work of the Kingdom is the forgiveness of sin.

And as for the heavenly treasure - "He turned to me a Father's heart/ He did not choose the easy part/ but gave His dearest treasure."

It's a simple quiz - are you seeing Christ more and more or are you seeing your own action more and more?

1 comment:

Steve Martin said...

"Well...you just can't leave everything up to Christ.

After all...we just gotta do sumthin'."

:)

(I'm with you, all the way)