September 24, 2020
Dear friends,
On Sunday, our first communion hymn will be “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense” (LSB 741). Here’s the first verse:
Jesus Christ, my sure defense
And my Savior, now is living!
Knowing this, my confidence
Rests upon the hope here given,
Though the night of death be fraught
Still with many an anxious thought.
Confidence is a precious gift. Confidence lets you act decisively, not doubting, not half-heartedly. Confidence is a key to success in so many ventures.
The basketball player who is confident in his training will still miss some shots, but not nearly as many as the player who lacks confidence and misses from self-doubt as much as from poor skills.
The driver who lacks confidence is hesitant at all the wrong times, creating hazards for other drivers.
The leader who has confidence conveys certainty in the course ahead so that his people do not doubt or fear but follow boldly.
The Christian who has confidence can face the darkest, most trying nights of gloom. He can face the gravest dangers and threats. He can arrive at death’s door not cowering but with hope because he is sure.
It is possible in lots of settings to be over-confident. It’s possible for your confidence to exceed your skill-level or aptitude. And that’s a recipe for disaster. Over-confidence can look like courage when, in fact, it is simple folly.
It is, however, not possible for a Christian to be too confident. That is because our confidence does not rest in us, in our skills, in our aptitude, in our abilities. Our confidence rests outside of us in Jesus Christ, our sure defense, who died and rose again. Jesus has taken the most certain fact of life — that all flesh must one day die — and he has undone it. It is no longer true. He has proven himself more certain than death. By rising from the dead, he kept an impossible word. And most importantly, it was a word he spoke to you. He died and rose for you. His forgiveness, life, and salvation were won for you. He busted through the gates of hell and unsealed the grave so that you can have a certain hope of eternal life. So that you can be confident.
It’s a precious gift. It equips you, not just to face the day of your death, but even now, to endure every day of your life. You cannot be too confident in Christ, for is goodness is beyond measure. You will never be made a fool when you hear and obey his word. Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.
God bless and keep you,
Pr. Buchs