“I know full well that I cannot do a single thing that is pure. But I am baptized, and through my baptism God, who cannot lie, has bound himself in a covenant with me. He will not count my sin against me, but will slay it and blot it out.”[1]
What would it be like to start each day with words like the ones above?
In Baptism, God tells you that you are his child. All of your sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven. You are going to heaven because God has made you his own child through Jesus. Cling to that knowledge with a white-knuckled grip and do not let go.
It’s so easy to remember our sins—the shameful things we’ve said and done that we wish with all our hearts to forget. The longer you’ve been on this earth, the longer that list is. And daily it grows. Memories of those words and deeds haunt us and stir in us a burning question of worthiness. Are we worthy enough to be God’s children? Certainly not. Yet it is not because of our own worth or worthiness that God says to us, “You are my dearly loved children.”
It’s all because of Jesus.
While our sins and Satan may accuse us exhaustingly to no end, we’re encouraged to look away from ourselves and fix our eyes on the promises of our God—to fix our eyes on him who made those promises to us. God cannot lie. If he says something, it is so. If God promises us in his Word and sacraments that we are loved and forgiven by him—what can possibly be said to contradict that?
As the apostle Paul put it: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? . . . I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35,38-39).
Nothing—nothing at all, dear Christian—can separate you from God’s love. If ever you begin to wonder, if ever you begin to doubt, turn your eyes to the cross. Turn your eyes to Christ. Sit at his feet, and listen to his Word. Hear the unbreakable promises God makes you. See how great the Father’s love is for you!
What overwhelming comfort and what undeserved grace God gives us. In his Word and sacraments, God says to us, “This—this is how much I love you. You are mine.” Reminiscent of the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism, our God says of you and me because of Jesus, “This is my son—this is my daughter. With him—with her—I am well pleased.”
We need to know that. We need to hear that every day because our sinful flesh and the devil are going to do everything they can to get us to question that promise and wonder whether or not God truly loves us.
Dear Christian, the next time your past haunts you, the next time the devil utters his accusatory whispers in your ear, remember what God has done for you—what he says to you—in Christ.
Prayer: Lord, give us the strength to walk without fear through life here in this sin-darkened world as we live for you as your children. Grant us a firm faith to hold fast to the riches of your grace and the promises you make us in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and your Word. Provide us with opportunities to joyfully give thanks to you for your mercy forever and ever. Amen.
Do you want to learn more about Baptism? For many Christians, their walk with Jesus begins in the waters of their baptism. In The Baptismal Life, Rev. Dr. Michael Berg reflects on the power of water in Scripture, the impact of Baptism, and how this precious sacrament connects believers to Christ.
[1] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, edited by Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann, American Edition, Vol. 35 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1955–1986), p. 36.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.