Many things in this world need restoration — homes, buildings, cars sitting lifeless in driveways.
We who were once part of God’s perfect creation in Eden have fallen through Adam and Eve’s sin, and we need restoration.
Praise God! In holy baptism, we receive the restoration we need.
He washes away our sins and gives us the robe of His righteousness.
Yet we remain in this sin-filled world where the devil waits behind every corner to lure us into temptation and dirty our robes of righteousness until we’re unrecognizable as God’s children.
This is why Luther urges us each morning to begin with the sign of the cross, remembering our baptism.
Every time we enter God’s house, we confess our sins:
“Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart or our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your punishment. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us.”
What a great promise our Lord gives us!
Every time we pray and bring our petitions to Him, He hears and answers through the pastor’s mouth, assuring us that for Jesus’ sake, our sins are forgiven.
What was washed away once is washed away daily — the old man dies and the new man arises to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
What blessed assurance to know we’re counted among the new creation, not just at baptism but every day we’re cleansed until we’re brought to heaven’s kingdom where sin, sorrow, sickness, and death will be no more.
Thanks be to God.
Contributor Timothy Chase is pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Truman, MN.
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