“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
Tatanisha left her children in her running car, while she ran into the convenience store. She knew she was going to be in the establishment for only a moment, and during the entire time she would be able to see both kids and car.
Now Tatanisha was right when she said she could see her car from inside the store. She was able to see when a man approached her vehicle. She could see as he got in. She could see as he put the car in gear and began to drive away with her two children still in their safety seats.
Now I don’t want you to think Tatanisha confined herself to the role of “spectator”; she didn’t. The moment she realized what was happening, she got moving. Sadly, by the time she got out, her car was already moving. Desperate, Tatanisha threw herself on the hood of the car.
Now, hanging on to the hood of the car wasn’t going to stop the vehicle, and it wasn’t going to rescue her children. There were only two things her last-resort act could do:
1. It could put Tatanisha’s life in danger.
2. It could tell other people that something wrong was going on.
Now here is what happened. The driver of the car made a sharp turn and threw Tatanisha off the hood. At the same time, a Good Samaritan trailed the car and called the police. Eventually, the man crashed the car, ran into a residential neighborhood where a police dog tracked him down. The man was arrested and Tatanisha was reunited with her children.
In that story I want you to remember only this: Tatanisha was willing to do anything, everything to save her children.
Many years ago, our Divine Lord created a perfect world. Into this perfect world He placed His children. All should have stayed as He made it, but it didn’t. One day the Lord saw His children had been kidnapped. They were lost to Him for time and for eternity.
But God was not content to be a spectator and leave things that way.
The Triune Lord decided to do anything, everything which could rescue them. In a plan born out of love, the Lord promised to send His Son into the world to rescue and redeem the billions of souls that had been taken from Him. So we might be saved, Jesus threw Himself into the work which would cleanse sinners of their transgressions and bring the kidnapped home.
Now, because of Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection, all those who are given faith are rescued and reunited with their Father who had done all that was necessary to bring His children home.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks that You, in love, did what was necessary to bring us back home safely. May we show our gratitude to You by the way we live our lives and sing Your praises. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.