Bravo to Mark Einspahr for “Pounds of Love” in the January issue! As a pastor, I find it important to wrap up and present the wonderful Gospel in different ways. This helps keep the attention of God’s people on Jesus and His cross.
I have to admit that I haven’t used the weight-loss-plan approach yet. Mark presents it at just the right time of year, when everyone is thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Brilliant! I’m sure that weight loss is a very common New Year’s resolution. These kinds of articles are ones we can use to share with neighbors who may not yet know the eternal joy that Jesus brings to us.
With that in mind, we need to always be careful in the way we present Law and Gospel. In the second-to-last paragraph of Mark’s article, please note that we are not, thankfully, the doers who let God empower us. Faith is not our work. We don’t even get credit for our repentance. Faith is God’s gift to us. He is the Doer. When God puts faith into us, that faith believes and that faith changes our minds (repentance). Through faith we realize our sinfulness and our just deserts. And through faith we feel the joy that forgiveness brings. Jesus earned it for us. God gives it to us. As Mark says, “When it comes to sin, Christ is our eternal weight-loss plan.” Amen.
Rev. Howard Gleason
St. John Lutheran Church
Burlington, Ill.
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