Out of Order

Here is it is July 6th, more than two months since my last post. Not only have I been thinking about and been busy with other things but I am about to write the first post to this blog. I know.  It's out of order. But what is order? Many things happen when they do. Previous posts (the few of them) were written on impulse and for practice. This one is on purpose.
    St. Paul mentions the whole of creation in birth pains groaning as redemption (read resurrection) is not quite here yet. Only because I've coached my wife through it six times do I know that something wonderful is about to happen, but there is the coming and going pain right before it actually happens, the birth of a child. This illustration can be used in more aspect of the Christian life. Facing sin and guilt is hard. It looks and feels like pain. It threatens and delivers death. Christ is moving us to repentance.Something wonderful is about to happen.
    Christ in his mercy provokes us to repent. He does so, so that he might wrap us up in forgiveness. So that he might  resurrect us in his image holy and blameless. Sometimes that provoking looks and acts like forgiveness working first because it is. We like to do things in some kind of order. Order is nice, but it isn't always the way Christ's Holy Spirit works.  The classic order given by man is to say you're sorry and then wait to be forgiven. Jesus got to us first with the promise of forgiveness. Adam didn't admit his sin. He blamed Eve. She didn't admit it either, she blamed the serpent. They really mean it was God's fault. God accepted their proposal. But chose to order salvation in his order of things. Jesus the Son of God chose us and was slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
   The Luther quote and title for this blog are a combination with part of St. Paul's letter to the Romans chapter 8 verses 18-25. Where the Word is proclaimed and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution there the Church is and there the Lord of Heaven and Earth is doing his work. Where one believes the Word written and heard, and receiving the Sacraments, there Christ is doing his work. And Christ is always doing his work among, with and to sinners. The righteous among whom Christ is working are the sinners who are repentant both clinging to his promises and begging for more.
    The world offers many reasons to believe that we are all headed for destruction. Nature (metaphor for how the creator Triune God cares for the physical universe and our little globe of it) unleashes fury even though locally it has been pretty mild this year (for which I thank God) but not too far away the flood waters have come up. Months ago the winter made many too cold for comfort and winter storms always set traps for those who feel they must go out and travel when indoors is the best place to stay. And if nature didn't catch us off guard as she keeps a balance on this life sustaining planet we well intentioned mess things up on our own by false assumptions or by accident. I'm all for oil drilling anywhere but in my literal backyard, but I'm completely against oil spills. It's a wasted resource. I'm also for nuclear, geothermal, wind and solar because I believe that they more efficient in the long run and cheaper or at least would be without or human greed factor but now I'm in a tangent and off the main subject. The sin of man is the direct and indirect cause of all trouble. We can make trouble out of anything including an interpretation of something that isn't a problem.
    Now on the other hand our God has promised that he is going to destroy the world. He has also promised that he is going to restore it. But in the mean time we live in a fallen corrupted world that God in Christ is committed to save. The historical evidence shows that the Holy Spirit's work moves across the world when and were he wills. In some places the Word has quieted. Was it rejected? Was it just ignored? Is it coming back?
    It isn't just nature that demonstrates trouble in the world. Man also multiplies sin in the most temperate and wealthy habitats. Sin is our dealings with one another but mostly our rebellion against our creator. When King David psalmed on to God about how "against you only have I sinned," he wasn't claiming we didn't sin against each other. He was merely stating  Christ's claim (on the cross) that 'the sin' stops here.  It is in and among sinful man that Christ does his Work. His Work is to redeem sinners. His patience with mankind and even with me goes way beyond my tolerances. And for that I am sincerely thankful. He keeps working salvation in me and building on the promise given me in my baptism as he also does for you. He keeps repeating his word of law and gospel to draw you to himself as redeemed brother or sister. And when I say he keeps repeating, I mean it happens over and over. It is a promise to last a lifetime. He even works on the hard hearted because I am so poor at doing that myself. We have at this time mediums of unprecedented capabilities to bring the Word of Christ into places it could never go before. This internet blog represents only one, but Marconi and several others brought radio, then TV, recordings to the ever shrinking mp3 players and who knows what is coming next...
    The final word is this, The all knowing, all powerful and ever present God sees you and has chosen to redeem and love you at the cost of incarnation and experiencing our eternal punishment in the time spent on the cross so that he dedicate his earnings of life and salvation to you and upon those who he has caught standing in the rain and those who run out in it trying to get on life's way. They find out he is the truth, the way and the Life.
    Life goes bad all the time. Christ reminds of and brings resurrection. He is making us right.
In this sense, I hope to be here chronicling the weather. The forecast is Jesus.