Powerful Stories of a Generous God

Part 1: This is God’s Story

One day someone asked Jesus: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25)

That’s a very important question. In some ways that is the question that brings a lot of to worship each week. It literally is a question of death and life.

So what must we do to inherit eternal life? Jesus asks this person to remember what it says in the Bible (Luke 10:26), and he asks him to remember the story of ...

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... well actually, he asked him to recall God's story.

• how God created us,
• how God rescued us,
• and how God promises to give us eternal life

In the beginning God created human beings as part of this very good creation.

• Formed us an breathed life into us.
• God is the source and sustainer of life
• Life is a gift from God
• All that we are and all that have comes to us from a gift of God.

And God has redeemed our life ... bought it back for us.

• When Israel was in slavery in Egypt, God rescued them and brought them through the desert to the land that God promised to give them.
• And now, God sent Jesus to die for our sins and God raised Jesus from the dead as a promise to us that God gives eternal life to all who trust in Jesus.

This long story of God’s love and power now includes us.

• In our baptism into Jesus, our stories are written into God’s story.
• God has done all this simply because God loves us, and God want us to love God with all our life, all our soul, all our heart.
• That’s what Jesus wants this man who asks him a question to understand: we live by faith in God and that faith acts in love for God and for our neighbor.

And because God has given us everything for this life and for eternal life ... we can love our neighbors as God loves us, freely, generously. (Here's a Bible Study on this week's theme)

That is it ... love and trust God above all things. It’s not really a doing like we might follow a “to-do” list. It’s not really doing in the sense of accomplishing anything or getting something done at the end of the day. What must be done to inherit eternal life, Jesus says, is to trust, to believe and to love because all that needs to be done has been done for us in Jesus Christ. All that’s left is faith and love. Or, rather faith active in love.

You see, like the man in the story the answer to your question has been standing right in front of you all along ... it’s Jesus; the answer to your questions have been hidden in plain sight in the faith we confess, the liturgy we use to worship and the inspired Word of God we read, mark learn and inwardly digest in scripture. Do, this ... in faith and love ... Jesus says and you will live.
Amen ...

And that should be the end of it ...
Unfortunately, we’re not very good at receiving good news and our answer to the Gospel is “Yeah, but ...” when it should be “Thank you.” But we’ll talk about that next week. When we consider the question ...

​Who is my neighbor?