Author: Nina Schmidt

Suffering now, glory later. The reality for now… for life in this sin-broken passing-away creation… the reality is suffering, but not pointless suffering. Suffering comes to an end: “after a little while,” which most likely means your mortal years. Suffering takes place under a promise: “the God of all grace… will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Suffering is a mild burden compared to the weight of glory that is coming (2 Cor. 4:17). While we wait for the glory, suffering is the arena of faith; the days of our baptism are the days of our outer nature wasting away while the inner life of faith is being renewed day-by-day (2 Cor. 4:16)—that is, every time the Holy Spirit works through Word and Sacrament. When that eternal glory in Christ comes, God will restore that wasted away outer nature with a newly resurrected immortal body (1 Cor. 15:42). At that time, the promises held for now in faith will be confirmed in their actuality. In the glory that is Jesus Christ, we will have strength such as we’ve never had before; we will be firmly established to last an eternity.

Prayers from one whose weakness prefers glory over suffering, even if it’s a manufactured mock-up of glory from human origin…

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. Grant me such faith that I can cling to this promise through the days of my suffering. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. As I cling to the promise of glory, grant that my hope does not waver, for you are the God of all truth. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. As I live with hope and anticipation, grant me the patience to hope for what I do not see, for my eyes behold only suffering. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. As I am patient in suffering, grant me the satisfaction of neighbors who visit and bring with them the consolations that they have received from God in the fellowship of believers. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. As I receive consolation from my neighbors, grant me to deliver consolation to them and others. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. Grant to the Institute of Lutheran Theology preachers and teachers who can deliver the consolation of Jesus Christ as needed by its students. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Father in heaven, you have promised that in the revelation of Christ’s glory, my glory will be revealed as well. Hold me in faith, hope, and patient anticipation until that day when faith shall become sight, hope is fulfilled, and patience is no longer needed. Merciful Lord, hear my prayer.

Jesus had no “ought” in laying down his life for us. God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, his Son, had no ought, no coercion, no compulsion, no command, and no shoulds or musts. The love we know from Jesus laying down his life for us is pure… love without restraint… without requirement… without reward… love as life: his life for our life. By laying this command on us (we ought…), John reveals the truth of the Apostle Paul’s declaration, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). The love we know in the flesh is love with restraint… love as a requirement… love anticipating reward. It is love tainted by the sin in the sinner’s practice of it. The new creature in Christ, though, does love spontaneously and without command. For as long as the new creature lives entirely by faith in Christ, there is no ”ought” in the new creature’s love. But if that new creature makes any attempt to quantify or measure that spontaneous love, it collapses into the tainted love possessed by the sinner. There is both joy and warning in this. The joy comes from serving the neighbor. Regardless of whether love is commanded or spontaneous, the neighbor benefits. The warning humbles those who confuse obedience with love, leading to pride.

Prayers from a sinner needing the commandment to love but desiring the faith that delivers pure and spontaneous love…

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant that your Holy Spirit so work faith within me that love flows out of me spontaneously and freely. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant that, as this love flows from me without restraint, I would be oblivious to it, not attempt to measure it, quantify it, qualify it, or take pride in it, but solely trust that such love is present. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant that, if I fail in such trust and quantify that love, and when my love lapses to that of mere obedience, my neighbor will still benefit from my better behavior. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant that, as my neighbor benefits from my spontaneous love or my obedient love, we would build together trustworthy communities and neighborhoods. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant that the Institute of Lutheran Theology would be one of those trustworthy communities. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

Heavenly Father, you so loved the world that you sent Jesus. Grant me the joy and contentment of spending the days of my baptism living among neighbors who either love spontaneously or love obediently. For Jesus’ sake. Amen

John reveals to us that “God is love” (vs 16). But, more than that, God is perfect love. This perfect love (the love which God has for us) casts out fear. How remarkable! The very God whom the catechism teaches us to “fear and love” casts out this fear so that only love remains. Yet, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Pro. 9:10 and many others). What are we to do, then, with the wisdom fear initiates? How are we to deal with the numerous instances of divine messengers opening their encounters with humans by saying, “Do not be afraid” or “Fear not!” The key to answering such questions lies in these words, “we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us” (vs. 16). This “knowing…” this “believing…” is nothing less than being grasped by faith and being brought into the reality of the New Creation already present in this world through the person of Jesus Christ. Only faith knows this reality… only faith possesses this perfect love… only faith has no fear of judgment. Judgment has already taken place. The Law accused the sinners; its commandments convicted them; and its sentence meant death (Ro. 6:23). But God’s “coup de gras” (stroke of grace) does not end with death for the Gospel comes packed with life… Jesus’ life… eternal life… Sinners dead in their sin are given newness of life, a foretaste of the feast to come. Such is the life of faith. Thanks be to God!

A sinner prays…

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. Grant me to know and believe that you loved the world with such ardor that you gave your only Son, Jesus Christ, that I would know perfect love and not fear. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. As I come to know your perfect love in Jesus Christ, give me such confidence that I would live in this world as Jesus lived in it. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. As I live in this world by faith as Jesus did, grant me freedom from Satan’s lies and the deceptions they deliver. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. Because I live free from Satan’s lies, grant me to see my neighbors’ needs and fill them as spontaneous acts of love rather than considered obedience to the commandment. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. Out of this spontaneous love I have toward my neighbors, may it be such a witness to them that they return Christ’s love with their own acts of kindness. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. Grant to the Institute of Lutheran Theology a confident proclamation of Jesus Christ as the love of God, that its students come to know and to believe. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Heavenly Father, you are perfect love. Hold me in faith such that your love does not depart from me, though the days grow long and my patience grows short in waiting for the coming of your Son in glory, and though there be death, yet there is life. O Father, you have loved me. In Christ am I loved.

Human sin renders us incapable of grasping the magnitude of “all things.” Sin instills in us a preference for Satan’s lies, especially this one: “You humans are autonomous, independent moral actors.” Fully entrenched in assumed autonomy and independence, we confidently practice an unscriptural dualism, assigning good to God and evil to Satan while maintaining a human capacity to choose between them. In truth, all people exist beneath a creator God who “forms light and creates darkness… one who makes well-being and creates calamity” (cf. Is. 45:7) … “who makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust… the sun to rise on the evil and the good” (Mt. 5:45). He is the Lord who does all things. There is only one Creator. Everything else—all things—even Satan—belongs to those entities that are created. While we may not fathom God’s ways in his creation, we can affirm the adage: “Satan may be a devil, but he’s God’s devil.” There is no dualistic, eternal struggle between good and evil… between God and Satan. The Apostle Paul conveys the truth of God’s Word: From him are all things; there is only one Creator. Through him are all things; God is the sole autonomous, independently acting agent. To him are all things. Everything that exists exists for God’s glory.

Prayers from those so fearful of the God who creates and destroys that they must cling to Jesus Christ as God revealed…

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. Grant us such faith that we cling to your Son and not search you out in your hiddenness. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. So that we would have such faith, establish us beneath a minister of Word and Sacrament—that is, a preacher. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. So that we would be established beneath a minister of Word and Sacrament, send us one who would be called to the public office of preaching in our midst. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. Once established beneath that office, give us ears to hear your Word as Law and Gospel. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. Having heard Law and Gospel from the mouth of our preacher, give us ears to hear those neighbors around us as they cry out in need. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. Grant to the Institute of Lutheran Theology a steadfastness in mission that it would continue to prepare preachers to be sent out as ministers of Word and Sacrament. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you come to us clothed in your Word, Jesus Christ, your Son. Hold us in patient hope until that day when your Son will come clothed in glory, and our glory as the sons and daughters of God will also be revealed. Through Christ alone you have saved us. Amen