Philippians 3:17-19 “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we have you. For as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.”

It has been said that God’s way is a narrow middle road, and there is a ditch on either side. That was true in Paul’s day, too. In his letters there are two kinds of “enemies of the cross of Christ,” two alternatives, rutting around in the ditch on either side of God’s way.

The Philippians lived in the pagan world of the Roman empire. Their religious convictions were an easy-going, anything-goes spirituality that tolerated just about any kind of superstition and embraced more gods than you could count. About the only kind of religion they didn’t like was the exclusive, one-way-to-heaven kind of religion the Christians and Jews believed.

They also didn’t care much for what Christianity had to teach about moral behavior. They liked their morals like they liked their religion: just about anything goes. In this way, they were enemies of the cross of Christ. The cross may promise forgiveness, but to get to forgiveness there is this messy process of admitting your sin and repenting of it. It is so much easier to believe that God doesn’t really care how I live my life.

The ditch on the other side of the road came from those who wanted to take the grace out of Christianity. They were called Judaizers. For them it was not enough to confess your sins and be forgiven. You had to keep the law well enough yourself, including all the Old Testament rules about food and ceremonies. For them salvation was Jesus plus your own works, and that made them enemies of the cross of Christ, too. Paul had just been warning the Christians in Philippi about these false teachers earlier in this same chapter.

Our times aren’t so different, are they. We are still surrounded by people rutting around in both these ditches. Several years ago the so-called “Me Too” movement began. It became an exposé of men from Hollywood, the business world, and politicians who sexually harassed women and used their power to have their way with them. To hear our world talk about it, they seemed to be baffled. “How did we ever get to such a point?”

Do you suppose it might have something to do with the fact that for more than a half a century we have been setting people free to pursue every kind of sexual perversion you can think of? In a world where we have dropped all the boundaries and criticize good old-fashioned self-control, is it a surprise that some have taken the pursuit of what they want this far?

I’m not saying we lived in a utopia of purity before the so-called “sexual revolution.” But our adoption of more or less pagan morals has been laying the foundation for a boatload of human misery.

And we Christians have been jumping on the live-any-way-you-want, believe-whatever-you-want bandwagon at practically the same rate as everybody else. In a similar vein, Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction.”

Don’t forget the ditch on the other side. It hasn’t become empty since Paul wrote so long ago. American Christianity is often reduced to little more than a society for successful living. Eat this. Don’t drink that. Here are the entertainments on the approved list. We develop our own set of ceremonial laws.

I once knew an otherwise Christian lady who came close to saying that drinking milk, (Milk!), was a problem for your relationship with God. I have nothing against healthy living and practical advice, but is this how we save the world? This is just another take on “their god is their stomach,” and “their mind is on earthly things.” All the while the cross of Christ gets pushed farther and farther into the background of Christian consciousness.

A Christianity so obsessed with improving day-to-day life that it no longer has room to call people to repent and be forgiven is not a friend of the cross of Christ. Without Jesus and his cross, we fare no better than the pagan world in which we live. “Their destiny is destruction.” This is the result of minds set on earthly things.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 “I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone– for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

At Thanksgiving we offer our prayers for all the various blessings God has given. I would like you to join me in taking a moment to consider one of those blessings in particular, one we might easily overlook: those who govern us.

Thanksgiving is one of the types of prayers Paul urges for those in authority. It is not hard to understand why. They make it possible “for us to live peaceful and quiet lives.” Nowhere has that been more true than in our own nation.

Few countries have enjoyed the kind of peace and quiet Americans have known for over a century. The civil war was the last time any battles were fought on our soil. Our homes and cities aren’t continually looted by enemy soldiers. They aren’t burned and bombed by enemy armies. We may take that for granted. Historically, it has been a rare blessing to enjoy that kind of peace so long.

We can be thankful we are allowed to gather for worship without fear of having the police storm in to break up our service. No one tries to force us to worship a false god, as the Romans tried to impose their emperor worship on the early Christians. No one tries to force us to worship God in a false way, as pope and emperor did at the time of the Lutheran Reformation. We don’t have to worship in secret, as Christians still do in many Islamic countries, China, or North Korea. Thank God our leaders, and our government, allow us to live our lives in “godliness and holiness.”

Beyond these freedoms, we can thank God for the law and order which generally prevail in our country. It may be far from perfect, but look at how many people are fleeing their own countries to try to get into ours.

As we thank God for these blessings, we recognize that more than prayers of thanksgiving are in order. Our leaders need our requests, prayers, and intercession as they face the many problems which can rob us of the ability to live peaceful, quiet lives.

We pray these prayers not to bring heaven on earth, but because we want all those with whom we share the earth to enter heaven. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

Of all the things for which we can give thanks, it is still the gospel for which we are most thankful. Paul sums it up here when he refers to “God our Savior.” God is the one who has saved us from sin. He has done everything to save us. He gives us a peace we can carry with us at all times because we know that our sins are forgiven.

The spread of this gospel is possible largely due to the governing authorities for which God’s thankful people pray. The peace and order they maintain create the environment in which we can share our faith with others. Whether we have special gifts for teaching and explaining that gospel, or whether we are simple Christians living godly lives of love and prayer, we are all participants in this great mission that so pleases God and serves our neighbor.

Paul places those who govern first as he urges us to prayer and thanksgiving. Give them a place in your own prayers at Thanksgiving and always.

Philippians 4:12-13 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Jack Whitaker won 315 million dollars in the West Virginia lottery in 2002. Less than a year later he was robbed of over a half million of that money at gunpoint. The money enabled his daughter and granddaughter to become addicted to drugs, and both of them died of overdoses. Though he was the president of a construction company when he won the money, four years later he was broke. Both he had his wife wish that he had torn the ticket up and never collected the money.

Sports Illustrated estimates that nearly 80 percent of NFL players are broke within three years of retiring from football. Few of them know how to manage their riches, or have a plan for supporting themselves after they stop playing.

The Apostle Paul never knew riches like the people just mentioned. He knew what it was to have “plenty.” Plenty is enough to cover your needs, and maybe enough more to enjoy life a little. Maybe that is all we ever wanted. We aren’t asking God for a life of luxury. We just want to be able to pay the bills.

Do you notice that Paul does not say the secret to being content lies in super riches, or having plenty, or even just enough? “I know what it is to be in need.” He had experienced hunger, cold, lack of decent shelter. He had been shipwrecked and spent a night and a day in the open sea. He had been falsely imprisoned with no one to come to his defense. He was writing this very letter from just that position. Still, he was content. He had learned the secret. He wants us to know it, too.

Our day of Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. These weeks leading up to Christmas can aggravate our materialism. There are so many shiny things to captivate our eyes. The commercials pushing us to purchase depend on our discontent to have their way with you and me.

Sometimes this season makes us more charitable. We may volunteer to feed people at a homeless shelter. We may buy Christmas presents for poor families that can’t afford them. These are all fine things to do. But don’t be surprised if those who receive your gifts aren’t filled with immediate happiness, and even leaves you a little empty. The secret to being content does not lie in how much you or anyone has.

What, then, is the secret? Paul continues, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

We are content when we depend upon God for everything in every way. He has rehearsed us in this kind of trust in the way he worked out our salvation, hasn’t he? We were naturally inclined to think that salvation was not about having more. It was about doing more. We had sins to make up for, so we tried to pay off the sin-debt with better living. If we worked hard enough, we supposed, maybe we could even bank our good deeds for a bad day, and we could begin to feel good about ourselves and our future.

But that approach always leaves one with an uneasy feeling, doesn’t it? I am trying hard to live right and do good, but why don’t I feel content?

It is because that way doesn’t work. Doing more, doing better, is not the secret to salvation. His strength, not ours, secures our souls. He has always intended to give salvation as his gift. So he gave us his Son. He loved and lived the way we were supposed to do. He served the sentence we deserved for our sins. He died the death that erases them. He even gave us the faith that makes these gifts our own! His strength saves us, not our own. My soul finds peace in his love.

If this God has done so much to settle my accounts with him, can’t I trust him to take care of everything else I need? In his letter to the Romans Paul put it this way: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave himself up for his all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”  

The secret to being content is not in the possessions. It is faith in the one who has already given us a kingdom. It is the strength we find in having him as our very own, and with him everything else we truly need as well.

Genesis 50:18-21 “His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

When we are holding a grudge, our world becomes very small, because all our attention is focused on just one thing. Have you ever seen the movie The Princess Bride? It’s a spoof on a fairytale. While the main plot focuses on the hero Westley rescuing Princess Buttercup from the evil Prince Humperdink’s plot to kill her, one of the major subplots revolves around revenge. Westley’s ally Inigo Montoya has dedicated his life to avenging the death of his father and killing his murderer. It’s all he talks about. He rehearses the fateful meeting over and over. “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” It so consumes him that when he finally gets his revenge, he has no idea what to do with the rest of his life.

What a sad way to live! Even the object of his revenge says so. Joseph, however, refused to live in such a cramped and crowded little world, bound by his anger over what he had lost, consumed with bitterness at the injustice he suffered. He forgave his brothers. He let it go. And it opened his eyes to see the incredible grace of God at work in the middle of his misery. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Joseph doesn’t claim he understands everything God does. He doesn’t say he can see God’s gracious hand bringing good out of every situation. But he can tell that life is about something bigger than just himself. He knows that God’s goodness and grace are capable of taking even the evil intentions and attacks of others, and creating blessings that far outweigh what we think we have suffered. Forgiving his brothers helped him change his perspective.

What an incredible view of God’s grace he received! “The saving of many lives” was bigger than Joseph’s promotion to Prime Minister in Egypt. It was bigger than the opportunity to feed his extended family during the famine. It was bigger than the population of Egypt and surrounding countries coming to find food.

Joseph’s brothers’ evil plan to sell their brother unintentionally saved the family tree of the Savior of the world from extinction by starvation. That means the lives they saved are also yours and mine. Our sins are forgiven, and we will live in heaven forever, in part because one day ten brothers let their anger at their brother Joseph get out of hand.

So don’t hold a grudge. Forgive your brothers and sisters and anyone else who tries to ruin your life, or just your day. Just maybe your perspective will change, and God will let you see his plans at work, saving many souls.

Genesis 50:17 “When their message came to him, Joseph wept.”

Why was Joseph crying? If you know the whole story, you know he was an emotional man. When he first saw his brothers after more than twenty years he wept privately. When he revealed himself to them a year later he wept in their presence. When they bring their Father to Egypt and reunite him with Joseph, there is more weeping still. The book of Genesis tells the stories of many of God’s people, but Joseph’s story is the only one in which you have all this weeping by a man. What is going on?

Joseph’s tears express a number of things. No doubt he feels tears of joy to be reunited with his family. At first maybe there were some tears of regret over the years that had been lost and the damage that had been done to the family.

Here at the end it is clear that Joseph’s tears express his love for his brothers, and his concern that they are still afraid of him. After everything that they had done to him, how did he get to this place? Humanly speaking he had every reason to be bitter. They had stolen the best years of his life from him! Why isn’t he fulfilling their fears? Why isn’t he taking his revenge?

It is because forgiveness has changed his own heart. This is the fruit of forgiveness in us when we are the ones doing the forgiving. The bitterness disappears. Love takes its place. Joseph wasn’t some little kid being forced to say, “I forgive you,” by his parents. He meant it from the heart. He knew God’s grace to him. The Lord had relieved him of his own guilt and pain. Now he wanted his brothers’ awful guilt and fear to go away. His tears on this occasion are evidence that his forgiveness, and his love, were sincere and true.

Isn’t that a better way to live? Isn’t that a happier place to be? Who is hurt the most by the grudge that I hold? Am I not the one who has to lug that negativity around with me? Don’t I end up being the one who can’t enjoy his day because the cloud of resentment weighs on my mind and hangs over my head? Let it go! Let it go and be free! Forgiving others opens our hearts, and it lets love grow inside again. Love is the fruit of forgiveness, and the happier place to be.

Genesis 50:15-17 “When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’”

You can’t say that Joseph’s ten half-brothers had had an easy life. They herded sheep for a living. That meant chasing animals around in the hot, hilly Middle East. This is the kind of work TV host Mike Rowe might include on his show Dirty Jobs. They lived in tents their whole lives. They and their families survived a seven-year famine. Now they lived in a foreign land where they were considered uncultured, unwashed, unrefined hillbillies. They were all part of one of the Bible’s most dysfunctional families full of jealousies, playing favorites, and political games.

Perhaps nothing was harder than the guilt they carried around for almost forty years. They sold their own brother into slavery. They lied to their father, claiming that a wild animal had killed him. Twenty-two years later they were reunited. They then learned that their brother’s thirteen years of slavery had also involved several years as in inmate in the king’s prison. For seventeen years following their reunion, their brother Joseph had treated them well, but the guilt always nagged, and they feared he had treated them well only out of respect for their father.

Now their father was dead. Their guilt and fear haunted them again. Brother Joseph had lived as a slave and a prisoner for thirteen years. Apparently his ten brothers had lived in a kind of prison or slavery of their own. “Serves them right,” we might be tempted to think. “They did this to themselves. They had it coming for doing such a horrible thing to their brother.”

It is true, they did this to themselves. They carried their guilt and fear around for decades in spite of the fact that Joseph had made every effort to show them grace. He had hugged and kissed them, given them gifts, and provided for their families these many years.

Now, what good could come of these ten men tiptoeing around Joseph in fear, thinking he held a grudge and would pay them back? Who would be served by that? It did nothing for Joseph. It didn’t change the years he had lost or make his experience easier. It only made him more alone, isolated from the people who should be his family.

It didn’t serve them to live in the misery. They weren’t paying off any debt or serving any justice. It wasn’t turning them into better people. It was far more likely to make them worse–moodier, short-tempered, self-absorbed, fault-finding, impatient with the people around them. It made them more alone, isolated from the people who should be their family.

It doesn’t serve us when past wrongs hang out unresolved, either. No good comes from it. I know of marriages destroyed this way. I know of parents who died in loneliness and poverty because of this. I have counseled brothers or sisters who had no one when they needed help because of situations like this. It only makes us more alone, isolated from the people who should be our family, or like one, to us.

Isn’t that why God has forgiven all of our sins? When we lived in fear of what he was going to do because of the way we treated his goodness to us, no good came of it. We searched for ways to appease him with some kind of magic. We tiptoed around him and tried to avoid him so that we wouldn’t have to deal with it. Maybe we tried to make it up to him by doing him some half-hearted favors. Or maybe, like these brothers a little later in the story, we throw ourselves down in fear and cry, “We are your slaves.”

But the one thing we don’t do is get close to him. There is no love, no trust, where there is fear. It only makes us alone, isolated from the one who should be the Father of our family.

So he introduced us to Jesus to take away our fears. He showed us forgiveness at the cross. He sent his Spirit to impress it on our hearts. He washed us in it at our baptisms. He fed it to us in his Holy Supper. And God’s forgiveness bore its fruit. It relieved us of our fears.

That’s what grace, that’s what forgiveness, does. It relieves our fears. It has already relieved our fear of God. It has the same power, it produces the same fruit, when God’s children forgive one another.

Matthew 25:10-13“But while they were on their way to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

I know of nothing we celebrate in a bigger way than a wedding. Entire cities may celebrate championship teams with more expense and bigger entertainment. But divide that by the number of people who come, compare the planning and preparation to that which a single family pours into a wedding, and I believe that weddings still come out ahead.

The average wedding in the United States today costs more than $35,000. The average annual salary isn’t that much more, about $44,000 per year. The invitations, the flowers, the pictures, the dresses, the music, the venue, the limo, the meal, the cake–it all adds up. For many people it is the pinnacle of life’s joys.

It has been that way for thousands of years. Consider that Jesus produced over a hundred gallons of wine for the single wedding at Cana, and that was part way through the meal. Feasting, singing, huge guest lists–weddings have long been among the happiest things we celebrate.

It’s not a surprise, then, that Jesus uses a wedding banquet as a picture of the happiest, most joyful place in the universe: heaven. We may not know the details of what is waiting at the banquet–the menu, the decor, the music, all the guests on the list. We do know that this life’s grandest celebration and happiest event becomes the base line for describing what every day might look and feel like in the life to come. Those whose faith in Jesus burns till he returns will share his feast of joy that never ends.

The outcome for the rest is not so good. “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’” Jesus doesn’t work all the explicit pictures of suffering in hell into this story: the flames, the worms, the gnashing of teeth. But this is no picture of a happy alternative to heaven, a decent second choice where the party might be just as good and the people even more fun.

Those whose oil ran dry, whose faith was lost, are desperate to get in. But they are excluded, shut out. During life that door could admit almost anyone. Moses’ brother Aaron led a whole nation into idolatry, but he repented and entered. King David committed murder and adultery, but he was forgiven and got in. The Apostle Peter denied the bridegroom himself three times, but after his tears of sorrow he even held the keys to this very door.

After Jesus returns, the door is shut. The outcome is sealed. Those without faith are forever outside, because they aren’t ready when Christ comes.

The count is almost over. Our Savior will be coming for us soon. Keep watch, tend your faith, and be ready when he comes.

Matthew 25:1-9 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: “Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’”

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. When a potential natural disaster is threatening, most people have the good sense to take some precautions and prepare for trouble. You may know that northerners think it’s funny when southerners clean out the grocery stores at the first hint of snow. But they don’t know how limited the highway and street departments are in the South. It makes some sense to stock up with a few extras. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

The young women in our parable were attending a wedding. Sometimes weddings start late. I have attended or conducted weddings that started late because of bad traffic, issues with the tux rentals, or rings or marriage licenses forgotten at the hotel. Not showing up until the middle of the night may be an extreme case. But weddings don’t always start on time.

Five of the virgins were ready for the delay. They brought extra oil for their lamps. Five of them were not prepared. This, then, is what Jesus is picturing: He is the bridegroom, the wedding banquet is heaven, and the ten virgins are the people who have received Jesus’ invitation to faith and life. They are the members of the visible church, Christians (at least in name) who are waiting for Jesus’ return to take us to heaven.

The oil for the lamps is faith, Christian life within the heart. This makes it possible to see our Savior and receive his gifts. Five of these ladies took their need for faith seriously. They weren’t satisfied that at least they had some at the moment. They took steps to make sure their supply was full no matter how long it had to last.

The other five didn’t consider the possibility of running out of faith. No doubt they genuinely had some in the beginning. But they weren’t willing to pay the price, or put in the effort involved, with getting more and carrying it with them. So they ran out of faith before they fell asleep in death.

What is Jesus saying to us? It takes a lot of faith to get through life all the way to the end. We are constantly burning through our supply. We need to refill if we aren’t going to run out.

You might think, “I know good and well who Jesus is and what he did to save me. I will never forget that he died on a cross to pay for my sins and rose three days later to prove it.” As a matter of knowledge, that may all be true. You are not likely to forget these facts as long as you live.

But faith is not the same thing as knowledge. Faith is trust, the kind of trust that puts all our welfare in life and in death in God’s hands. Life has a way of gnawing at this kind of trust until it isn’t there anymore at all. It is full of things that whisper in our ears, “God doesn’t really care about you.” People die, plans fail, relationships crumble, guilt nags, powers fade, jobs disappoint, wealth disappears, and our bodies limp toward a miserable death.

On the other side, life is full of slick salesmen and carnival hawkers calling out, “Come over here! Have I got a deal for you! We have the secret to real happiness. What you need is a new car, a newer, bigger house, a bigger TV screen with more mind-numbing power than ever before.” Even our innocent interests and distractions have the potential to put us in violation of the very first commandment, “No other gods!” Without a constant attention given to the needs of our soul they have the power to drain our faith.

Now is the time to buy our oil! Now is the time to build our stock. It won’t wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow may not be given to us. Today the Gospel is here, and we can hear it, read it, sing it, and take it to heart. Today God wants his love to find its way into our hearts through his word, and each day he gives us until we sleep. Ready or not, here Christ comes. There are just two ways to prepare for that day. Only those who continue to fill themselves from God’s word will be able to maintain their faith.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-7 “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

God will pay back trouble to those who trouble you. Do we know what to do with a statement like that? Is it hard to decide how that should strike us? Is it wrong for us to be happy that the Lord will punish them?

We know that Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). In his letter to the Romans this same Paul says, “Do not take revenge, my friends,” (12:19). We know that God our Savior wants all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. If our desire for payback springs from personal hatred and resentment, if it leads us to love such people less than fully and unconditionally, we are guilty of a grave sin, and in danger of the same judgment Paul is describing here.

But what if, after all our efforts to repay their insults and injuries with kindness; what if, after all our attempts to show them the error of their ways and lead them to repent; what if, after all our preaching of the full and free forgiveness Jesus has won at the cross they WILL not repent? They WILL not believe? They WILL not receive God’s gift of grace and stop fighting against Christ’s people? At that point would it be right for God to say, “Oh, well. We tried to turn you around. Come and be happy in heaven anyway”? Would God still be just if he did?

Is it just our sinful flesh, and an evil desire for revenge, then, that agrees with God when he promises, “I will pay back trouble to those who trouble you”? Or doesn’t our faith also teach us that God is being just when he punishes the wicked? We may even find comfort in knowing that he will! We must agree that God’s judgment is right.

Maybe it will help us to look at this from God’s point of view. Even in secular society, people understand that certain crimes merit an appropriate punishment. Failing to do so insults and devalues the victim. When a man rapes or murders, and the courts let him go with little more than a slap on the wrist, they are doing more than putting innocent people at further risk. They are saying to the victim and her family, “Your body, or your life, aren’t worth very much in our opinion.” That is a miscarriage of justice.

Now God looks down from heaven on the dear children whom he has redeemed and adopted. They did not deserve his grace. Purely out of love and mercy he sacrificed the most valuable thing he had, his own Son Jesus Christ, to purify them of their sins and make them fit for his family. He so treasures these people that he paid an unspeakably horrible price to make them his own.

Then he called them with this message of free forgiveness and unconditional love. He overcame their natural fear and resistance and made them his very own by faith. This is the great value he has placed upon them.

Now when their enemies, to whom he made the same offer of grace, come along and trouble his blood-bought children; when they ridicule them for trusting in God’s love; when through shame or violence they try to tear them from their Lord’s loving arms, is God unjust if “He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you”? These men have nothing less in mind than to murder the souls of God’s people. He is just, and his judgment is right, to pay back trouble in the end.