Jesus: the Only Truth from Heaven

More words to treasure from H.W. Gockel:

One of the deepest cravings of the human heart is to know the truth. The anxious mother's heart would give anything to know the truth about her wayward boy. The lover is hungry for the truth of his beloved. The worried family tosses restlessly on sleepless pillows because it does not know the truth about a father, son, or brother who has been reported missing from the field of battle. —If only they knew the truth, there would be an end to this agony of uncertainty.

But a far deeper hunger for the truth is gnawing at the heart of every man and woman. Even the person who professes to have no religion at all will confess in his honest moments that he is troubled by a torturing uncertainty. In the presence of others he may boast that he can get along without a faith in God. He may even proudly assert that there is no God. In his secret heart of hearts, however, he cannot down the haunting question: But what if there is? What if there is a God?

If there is a God, what kind of God is He? What does He think of me? What does He intend to do with me? How do I fit into His plans for the universe, particularly His plans for the human family? What is my personal relationship to Him — and His to me?

Whether a man lives in Chicago, Cleveland, or New York, in Bombay, Calcutta, or Shanghai, he is distressingly conscious of a hunger for the truth about these questions....

I know that men have given answers to all these questions. Philosophers have crowded our libraries with learned books on just these subjects. They have spun impressive theories. But what I need as the polestar of my life — my guide, my chart, my compass — is not a theory that has been invented by a man who is just as subject to error as I am. No, I need the truth — God's truth.

I have found that truth — in Jesus!

I have placed my trust in the words of Christ, first of all, because God Himself has told me that the words of Christ are trustworthy.... And so I look to Jesus for the truth.

But more. God the Father placed His stamp of divine approval on His Son and on His teachings both at the occasion of the Savior's Baptism and again on the Mount of Transfiguration.... I accept the words of Christ as truth, then, because God Himself has vouched for the truthfulness of His own beloved  Son.

I place my trust in the words of Christ, furthermore, because Christ with His own lips has assured me that His Gospel is the truth. "If you continue in My Words," He says, then are you My disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the trtuth shall make you free." ....

I place my trust in the words of Christ, finally, because the whole Bible is nothing but one chorus of testimony to the heavenly wisdom of the Savior. To the holy writers, Jesus is God's truth come down from heaven. "In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," the Bible tells us. "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, opens His Gospel with the well-known words: "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." ....

In a day such as ours, when "darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people," when men's hearts are failing them for fear, when the hope of ever coming to the knowledge of the truth in spiritual matters is gradually begin given up as vain and futile — Christ is still mankind's only hope. He is still the Light of the world. He is still the Way. He is still the Truth.

Source: H.W. Gockel, "What JESUS means to me," St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1948, pp. 73-79. N.b. language of Scripture citations lightly updated by blogger.

The First Thing Jesus Did

Thought-provoking comments from Touchstone editor Patrick Reardon:

“That instant of the Resurrection of Jesus was the most decisive moment in the history of the world. It was the event of deepest importance for every human being who ever lived. It was the supreme kairos. The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled in that moment, and the existence of the human race took on an utterly new meaning.

“What, however, was the first thing Jesus did when the Resurrection life came surging into His body? The simplest and plainest thing imaginable: He reached up, pulled the kerchief from His face, folded it, and set it aside, as though it had been a napkin used at breakfast.”

“The universal Christ, the eternal Word in whom all things subsist, was still the same Jesus, to whom an act of elementary neatness came naturally. He spontaneously did what He would likely have done in any case, much as another man might unconsciously scratch his ear, or yet another look around for a stick to whack the weeds with as he walked along.

“The risen Lord was the same Jesus His friends had always known. He had just returned from the realm of hell, where He trampled down death by death. He was on the point of going forth as a giant to run His course. He was about to begin appearing to His disciples, providing them with many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

“Nonetheless, He was still the same person, whose instinctive habits remained identical. First, He took a moment to fold the kerchief He had used, and only then did He stride out to change the direction of history and transform the lives of human beings.”

via Touchstone Magazine – Mere Comments: The Christ of the Folded Napkin.

Jesus Christ at the Center

None of my own words today. I give you the God-blessed wisdom of the Rev. Daniel Preuss, first vice president of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod:

Why am I a Christian? Because Jesus is at the center and it's all about Him. I am a Christian by grace, a simple yet profound work of the new creation in water and Word. I know Jesus loves me because "[His] Word gives life to water poured." Because of Jesus, I face no punishment for sin, nor do I face an eternal death. I am God's child, and He has given me His family of believers wherein He feeds me. God is so kind and gracious. Thus I live with faith in Him and hope that is born from His promises.

I am a Lutheran for the same reason I am a Christian. It is not by choice but by grace. The teachings of the Lutheran Church place Jesus at the center because the teachings of the Scriptures place Jesus at the center. No other confession demonstrates such fidelity to the truths of God's Word. No other confession so glorifies Christ by placing Him at the center of all it confesses and teaches. Being a Lutheran is truly all about Jesus.

• The entire sinful world is loved by Jesus.
• God saves us through the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
• The Holy Spirit creates faith by showing us Jesus.
• In Baptism, we die and rise with Jesus.
• In the Lord's Supper, we receive our inheritance with the body and blood of Jesus.
• The pastor proclaims and distributes the merits of Jesus.
• All our prayers go to the Father through Jesus.
• All our good works flow out of hearts that trust in Jesus.
• In the bearing of all crosses in this veil of tears, our eyes are fixed on Jesus.
• We wait with joyous hope for the day when we will see the face of Jesus.

Thus the Christian faith is all about Jesus. Being a Lutheran is all about Jesus. St. Paul says, "No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). St. Peter says, "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). That's why we sing: "On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand." Christ the solid Rock remains always at the heart of our confession as Lutherans and as God's people. The mission of the church becomes clear when it flows from Jesus and His work. Faith is living and grows where it is confessed because Jesus enables it to live and grow. We lift high the cross because on that cross is Jesus, the Savior, the hope of the entire world. Him we proclaim until everyone throughout the world praises Him with us.

Source: "Why I Am a Lutheran," by Daniel Preuss, ©2004, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, pp. 194-6.