From my sermon at the District Pastors Conference:

I went to see Millie in the hospital. At her age, with her heart condition and everything else going bad, I knew it wouldn’t be good. Her family was deeply concerned.

When I walked into her hospital room, quite a few people were already there. A couple nurses were working on IV tubes and monitors. Her family was there, talking with one of the doctors from the surgical team.

Millie was lying flat on her back in the hospital bed, eyes closed, mouth hanging open slightly. I had seen that look all too many times. I sensed it wouldn’t be much longer.

The conversation between the doctor and her kids was on possible procedures. He was explaining the risks of not doing surgery and just medicating, or going ahead with surgery, but with her condition, it would most likely trigger a “terminal event,” at which time, he told her family, “We’d need to know what you want to do.”

From behind him, eyes still closed, Millie raised her right arm straight up in the air, and in a remarkably firm voice said, “Do not resuscitate!” (The DNR bracelet was on her right wrist; she was making sure we all saw that.)

The doctor turned to her and said, “Oh, you heard all that.” He reassured her that they would do everything in keeping with her wishes.

When he left the room, I pulled up a chair next to her bed, and she opened her eyes a bit to look at me, and we talked. She told me she had her funeral all planned, what songs she wanted, the Bible verses I should share. She knew herself it wouldn’t be much longer. She said, “If this is how the Lord wants to take me out, I’m ready to go!”

A couple days later, He did just that. Millie got out of the hospital and out of rehab and out of her heart condition and out of every failing organ and cell of this life and Jesus brought her home to paradise. By God’s amazing grace she had taken the next step into Resurrection.

I truly understand and fully support those who sign on to Do Not Resuscitate orders. I find in that prayerful and faith-filled decision a reflection of the Apostle Paul when he says, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” (Philippians 1:23). Paul had just said, “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” We Christians get that. We embrace it. We much prefer Resurrection to resuscitation.

The primary difference between the two is that to be resuscitated, you are still alive. You may look or seem dead, but you’re not there yet. Your living body just needs someone to restart the life processes, so you can continue living.

Not so with Resurrection. There you have to die first. You are most certainly dead. Dead dead. And the only One who can change that is the One who invented Resurrection in the first place. Resuscitate is medical; Resurrect is miracle.

God doesn’t explain the inner workings of Resurrection. He does not provide every detail of the process, nor the end product. We just know that we cross over from death to life. Paul, who I believe treats Resurrection as the fun part of faith, as he expresses so much wonder and joy about it, reflects that mysterious anticipation in Philippians 3:10-11:

That I may know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible (the NIV says “somehow”) I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

If our only hope is for this life in the physical world, then we have no hope at all, only pity. But Jesus inspires in us a real hope through faith in His Resurrection power, that when we have emerged from struggle and suffering, we will stand triumphantly next to Him in His Kingdom of Glory. We just need Him to take us from Point A to Point B.

Millie chose 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 for her funeral:

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

The groaning is real. We cannot ignore or erase the genuine pain and suffering that life on this side of eternity inevitably brings. Jesus gets that. In Matthew 27:46, the crucified Christ cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He’s quoting from Psalm 22:1, which goes on to say, “Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” But God did hear Him, just as He heard Millie, and He hears us. He saves us. Sometimes by resuscitating. All times by Resurrecting.

But before you get Resurrected, you get Crucified. With Christ. That’s the first step toward Resurrection, taken when the Holy Spirit baptized you into Christ and onto His cross. That’s what grace does. It saves us through Christ, with Christ and in Christ. We get what He’s having.

Paul mentioned that what is mortal may be “swallowed up” by life. He uses that metaphor in 1 Corinthians 15:51-56:

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Victory has a big mouth, and the Gospel has a huge appetite. Death has been swallowed up. Defeated. Destroyed. The fight is over, the battle won. Jesus didn’t say, “Let’s get it started.” He said, “It is finished!” Bring on the Resurrection!

I’ve been asked that if I were able to start my own congregation and name it anything I wanted, what would I choose? I’ve given that some thought. I can’t go with “St. Stephen’s,” because that would seem a bit arrogant. I considered “Lord of Life,” but then I feared that once we started using the initials, no one would take us seriously.

I’ve always liked “Celebration,” but the good folks in Appleton serving with Pastor Rex Rinne already took that one.

I really enjoy what Pastor Bob Selle and our brothers and sisters in Wrightstown came up with in 2005 when they started their mission church. They named it “Alleluia,” with the explanation, “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.” I love that! It’s got a lot of Resurrection to it.

So, Easter people, knowing that Christ has won the victory for us, and that we don’t need resuscitation nearly as much as we need Resurrection, say it with me:

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

And Happy Easter, Millie! Amen.

Nothing.

If that were the case, I’d consider it a successful Sabbatical. I would have thus been rested, restored and recharged. But alas, I did a lot of things, sprinkled in with plenty of nothing.

I had three goals for my hiatus from May thru July: 

1. Get healthier, mentally and physically. 
   
2. Organize my sports cards for potential sale. 
3. Start writing a book. 

I actually had a rough start in May, particularly for Goal #1. I have been battling migraines since the beginning of the year, with each one getting progressively worse. I was prescribed a med that should stop the migraine once the symptoms start, and the next time, it worked.

Then in the beginning of May, right after I started my Sabbatical, I got another one that blew right through the med. The severe symptoms lasted over 10 hours. Welcome to your time off, Kline! This triggered a series of tests, including a brain MRI. Fortunately – using my daughter’s poke at her old man – there was nothing there. My doctor said finding the cause of migraines “is like chasing ghosts.” We haven’t caught one yet.

The conclusion was that this was most likely related to stress and anxiety. I was prescribed stronger meds for the next occurrence of symptoms. Praise the Lord, I have not had a reoccurrence in the last 3+ months. Apparently, the down time has actually worked, at least for now.

Toward that end, I’ve gotten in quite a bit more golf during this time off. I’m not a good golfer, but I can honestly say, after playing a couple times a week this summer, I’m still not a good golfer. I’ve also gone to see several T-Rats and Brewer games, which is always fun until they lose.

As for Goal #2, I failed to appreciate what a massive project getting all my cards organized and inventoried would be. I estimate that I have about 100,000 cards. To sort them, put them in numerical order and catalog the total for each card was tedious on steroids. Not only that, most of my cards are pre-1990, so I’d see a favorite player I hadn’t thought about in years and get lost in the stats on the card, or remembering when the Bills almost won the Super Bowl. That’s not healthy.

I got through about 10,000 cards. I’ll work on the rest on my days off and should be done right before Jesus comes again. Or the Bills win the Super Bowl, whichever comes first.

Goal #3 was the most intriguing experience during this extended retreat. Before I get to that, I should share that Debbie and I got to travel more than we usually do. We spent a long weekend in Door County and another in Eagle River.

Then, in June, I spent two weeks at the hunting cabin up north. I had planned this for over a year, that most of my time there would be on my own (Deb came up on the weekends – we saw a couple moose!). Part of my rationale was that I needed some time and space to totally decompress. If you know me you know that I am just a little bit extroverted and can be a rather social person. But if I am going to get my head (and heart) on straight and get healthy, I would need some alone time.

This actually scared me going in. I’ve never taken two weeks off from everything and everyone. I didn’t know if I could handle that. If I couldn’t, then I might as well had back home and get back to work, carrying the same bad habits and unhealthy processes with me.

That’s when I caught the devil trying to trap me. I was doing the same thing I always used to do: pressuring myself to be Superman or Superfail, all based on my own ability to do it all myself, to save myself. And Jesus stepped in.

I wanted this time alone, not only to rest and relax, but to explore this book idea I’ve had for over 10 years now. And that’s what I did. What we did, actually. Jesus became a tangible part of the creative process, in a sense.

Without giving away too much, a significant part of the premise is conversations with Jesus. I had immersed myself in the relevant sections of Scripture that would inspire the creative aspects of those conversations. Prayer and meditation have been essential disciplines along the way.

As I worked my storyboard and started making notes for each main point, I was crafting the lines I would have coming from Jesus. I was getting rather excited about the direction this was going, even if I had to stop and backspace or highlight and delete a few times.

At one particular moment, Jesus stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought I had produced a wonderfully poignant line for Him to say. And the impression that burst into my mind was: “I would never say that.” Of course, He was right.

Now we Lutherans don’t get into special revelation, where the Voice speaks to us apart from His Word. And this was not that. We do hold to inspiration from the Spirit in our thoughts and words, which is what I’d been counting on for the whole project. This was different. It was more.

I realized right then and there that Jesus was with me. I’ve always know that. We all know that. But at that exact second in time, I could say now I Know. He was reminding and reinforcing in such a way that the self-imposed pressure dispersed, and the joy of Knowing Jesus exploded.

I got about as far with writing the book as I did with the baseball cards. But now I am thoroughly and joy-fully committed to going the distance, and not in another 10 years.

Something my wife told me, as I was starting to feel the usual stress I manufacture, this time about accomplishing the Three Goals, really hit home. She said, “So what if you don’t actually finish each one? Who’s going to rip on you for that? The point is you’re trying to be healthy.” I now realize, even if she didn’t know it, that that was Jesus talking again.

Many of you don’t know Debbie much. She prefers to stay off stage. The two greatest accomplishments of my Sabbatical was spending more time with Jesus, and more time with Deb. No evening meetings to go to. More travel together. We went down to Atlanta in July to see the newlyweds, and then spent five days in Hilton Head in 100 degree heat. We both became people of color. We jumped in the waves. We saw a couple alligators! It was glorious.
​
I learned that Jesus time comes first, and Debbie time second. Pastor time is now a distant third.

Is it a vacation? A leave of absence? What?
The answer is yes. Kinda.

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the North Wisconsin District have been strongly encouraging church workers (especially pastors) and congregations to embrace the use of sabbaticals to help relieve the pressure and anxiety that builds up over time in the pursuit of saving souls. That’s how pastors see it: a daily battle for life and death. After a while, it wears you down.

The foundation of sabbatical comes from God’s Word itself. From the North Wisconsin District website: The word “sabbatical” is derived from the Biblical idea of “Sabbath.” God himself sets the pattern for Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-4a and would later command the people Israel (Exodus 20:8-11) to set aside 1/7th of their time for rest and renewal.

The first thought that a lot of lay people have – that I joke about all the time – is, “Rest and renewal from what? They only work one day a week!” The truth is, according to my Call Documents, I actually have only one day OFF per week. That’s standard for church workers in the LCMS.

That’s the nature of the business. It’s what I signed up for. We work weekends and holidays: all of them. The other days of the week fill up rather fast, with sermons to prepare, confirmation and Bible classes, meetings, visits, more meetings, theological reading and research, time in prayer and the Word, calls/texts/emails from members and others, and meetings. That’s ministry, and I absolutely love it! But without proper self care, it becomes a genuine strain on me, and on my family.

The hard part for me is that “time off” thing. When I go home at night, ministry comes with me, in my heart, on my mind. My day off on Friday sometimes isn’t. I’m getting better at vacation, but I still think too much about ministry – the next sermon, someone who’s hurting, future plans and such - and I am now forbidden to look at my phone when we’re gone. Mentally and spiritually, I struggle to find the off switch. That, plus a tiny bit of aging, is affecting my physical health as well.

The District guidelines on Sabbatical address this: Workers in the church need to recreate and restore what has been worn down by day-to-day encounters with reality. Nourishing one’s body, mind and spirit and regaining perspective requires a change of pace and place—a pilgrimage. Jesus provides us a good example to follow. He actively nourished his whole person, body, mind and spirit—in prayer, in teaching, in travel, in time alone, in rest and in the caring for people. By his example, the apostles who walked and worked with him learned from him and benefited as well. Jesus told his disciples in Mark 6:31: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

That is what sabbatical is about—an extended pilgrimage away from the “normal” activities of life as we know it in the exercising of the roles, functions and responsibilities or our vocations and into others which restore, renew, rebuild, and rejuvenate the whole person, body, mind and spirit. It is a significant change of life and living for an extended period of time that ultimately benefits the person, his/her family and the ministry of call.

A couple pastor friends of mine, likewise serving in large, dynamic congregations, ended up taking emergency Sabbaticals, due to the excessive stress and burnout. One is still working to regain his equilibrium. The other came back to his church and announced his resignation, because he couldn’t be what they needed him to be anymore.

There’s a lot of that going around among pastors. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research released a foundational report last year about the health of America’s churches and the leaders that serve them. The survey’s title, “I’m Exhausted All the Time,” will resonate with anyone in soul business. The report documents the growing number of American clergy who are burned out and have considered leaving either their current congregation — 44% — or the profession itself — more than half (53%). This has reached epidemic levels in American Christianity. And I don’t want it to happen to me.

I am doing what I was born to do, what I love to do. I truly cannot imagine doing anything else, and I have no idea what I would even be qualified to do. I’m also doing it in a place I love, with the Family of God that I love.

Again, the main reason so many pastors get stressed out is that we are on the front lines, in the trenches, for the spiritual battle of life and death for every soul entrusted to us. That’s our reality. We try not to overthink that, but it is still what drives us, and sometimes drives us over the edge.

That’s why our Administrative Board adopted a Sabbatical policy years ago, and affirmed again last year. The policy says, “The purpose of the Sabbatical is to provide time for our pastors to gain perspective on ministry by stepping out of it for a specified length of time. Sabbatical leave is a part of the ministry of this congregation, and the planning and implementation of the Sabbatical are part of our pastor’s job to maintain his professional skills and his spiritual growth.”

The Admin Board and I started this conversation three years ago, in response to Synod and District encouragement. Together we formulated the plan and affirmed the dates. My Sabbatical starts May 1, and I return August 4. During that time, my goals are:

1. Work on self care – mental and physical;
2. Organize and inventory my sports card collection (Anyone looking to buy? Have I got a deal for you!);
3. Explore a book idea I’ve had for the last 10 years.

Deb and I will also be doing some traveling as we celebrate our 35th Anniversary in June, plus a trip to see the newlyweds in Georgia in July. I envision some golfing and fishing may also creep onto the calendar.

This means I won’t be taking calls or texts or messages involving church or ministry. I have to break away completely for these three months. I’ll also be visiting other churches for worship. In case of catastrophe or serious emergency, the church staff will know how to find me.

What I won’t be doing is looking for another Call. Synod guidelines forbid it, and I don’t want one anyway. This is where God put me, where He wants me, and where I want to be. You’re stuck with me.
​
See you in August.

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). Dead man (or woman) walking. Close the churches, and the rest of the universe, too. What would be the point? If Christ is still dead, then so is everyone and everything else.

But He’s not dead. Not anymore. Sure, He died on the cross – and that was a real live death. He didn’t fake it or hold his breath for a long time or magically pull a switcheroo with Judas or someone. He bled out. He breathed His last. He said, “It is finished,” and He gave up His spirit. That’s a death, folks.

When Jesus died, He took death and the devil down with Him. But when He rose, death and the devil didn’t. The devil still prowls, but he’s been de-fanged. Since death holds no power over the child of God, Satan really has nothing left.

Which is why his whole strategy is to get you away from Christ. Without Jesus, you bring death back into the equation. I’m not referring simply to physical death: that’s the wages of sin. God, however, has far more in mind when He talks about death and life. The devil knows this, but he doesn’t want you to know it. He wants you afraid of death, and afraid of God. So much so that you’ll start moving in the other direction whenever Jesus comes around.

The initial reaction to Christ’s resurrection was a mix of shock and awe. We wouldn’t expect any different. Nobody expects the Resurrection nor the Spanish Inquisition. That first Resurrection Day was stunning beyond human description, even though Jesus called His shot ahead of time.

But there He was. Here He is. Calling Mary by name, and then she bear hugs Him. Saying “Peace” to cowering disciples who at that moment had no peace. Bringing Peter back. Clearing Thomas’ cobwebs. Showing the disciples and over 500 other people – even the death merchant SaulPaul – that He who was dead is now very much alive.

Other people in the Bible had been brought back to life, like Jesus’ friend Lazarus, for instance. But then they died again. Jesus never did. He died once, to pay the price in full for every sin of every sinner ever. Then He brought it back: life.

That’s when Peter stopped crying. Mary stopped running. Thomas stopped doubting. John stopped hiding. And, eventually, Paul stopped killing. That’s what Resurrection does to people. It not only stops the bleeding, it stops the dying.

The thing about Easter, though, is that we would be making a grave mistake (you like that?) to confine Resurrection to one day. The disciples realized that this was THE game changer, not only in life, but in faith and in church. They spent 40 days listening to the undead Messiah explain why.

The early church realized that the Lord of the Sabbath let go of the leash on laws and regulations, so when they realized they still needed to agree on a day to show up for worship, they settled on Sunday – the day of Resurrection. That means every Sunday is Easter, not just the first one after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

The name Easter actually didn’t come around until centuries later, when the Resurrection Gospel reached English-speaking lands. It seems to have originated from a German word for “dawn,” as in the sun coming up in the east. The early church still referred to Resurrection as Pascha, the Greek word for Passover, which was the Old Testament festival that Jesus crashed. (Oh, and neither Easter nor Christmas have pagan origins, even if some secular customs do; that’s just Satan trying to divide and conquer again).

What it all comes down to is that Jesus is here, right now, with you and in you. You don’t have to wait for heaven. Your eternal life starts the moment Jesus raises you up out of sin and darkness and death, and you live every day as your own personal Easter, in forgiveness, light and life.

Jesus is calling you by name. He’s chasing away your fears and removing the clouds of doubt. He dries your tears and heals your heart. Only a living Savior can do all that.

The added bonus to Resurrection is that we’re not the first ones to get it. The believers before us got it, held it, lived it and took it all the way to the Father’s House. If you want to see them, you have to see Jesus. You have to see Easter.
​
Easter is everything.

I’m not going to lose 30 pounds sitting on the couch. I need to lose the weight. I want to lose the weight. I’ve lost weight before, so I know it can be done. The challenge is turning the wanting into doing.

A lot of us face a similar challenge in our spiritual lives. We’d like to do something, and we know we should be doing more things for Christ, but we’ve gotten a little too comfortable on the couch. We need some motivation. And God has a way of giving it, even if He’s got to tip the couch to get us up. He’s very persistent when it comes to His Kingdom.

And here it is: Christians who act on their faith by serving and sharing Jesus save lives. Especially those closest to us. Faith is always a hand-me-down. Or hand-me-over.

Toward that end, we’ve adopted a goal for everyone in our Church Family for 2025: Try One New Thing. We actually have three components to this goal:

1. Try one new thing;
   
2. Invite one new friend;
3. Meet one new person.

 
Here’s how it works, along with the why and how. 
 
Try one new thing.  This means getting involved in some aspect of faith life that you haven’t done before, or haven’t tried in a long time. This is where I use the V word: volunteer! As a matter of fact, you do have the time and the energy, if you ask God to manage your time and your energy.

It can be a one-time activity, or a longer-term commitment. You and the Lord choose.

Why? We have over 200 ways to try new things at SHLC, mainly because we have about over 2000 people who might need a little help here and there. By trying one new thing, you serve the Lord (personal blessing) while you share the Lord (community blessing). God reaches us…

How? First, pray. Then listen. We will be sharing with you the ways you can connect with whatever ministry, project or event the Lord is drawing you to. You can also ask any staff person and we’ll help you figure it out. 
 
Invite one new friend.  I believe we have a really good thing going here, as reflected in the comments of members new and old, as well as visitors and neighbors. The Holy Spirit has blessed us beyond measure, and He designs every blessing for His Church to be shared.

Why?  Recent surveys show that the vast majority of people who don’t go to church would go if a friend invited them. We also know from multiple studies that our current culture craves belonging, to a place and, more importantly, to a group of people. Acts 1:6 says, “You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” If you care about someone, open the door. …with the love that reaches others.

How?  First pray. Then, personal contact. Talk. Phone call. Text. Email. However you communicate with the people close to you. Pick a Sunday or an event (Night of Hope, God’s Deer Camp, etc.) that works for them, and plan to meet them here, or even pick them up if they need a ride.
 
Meet one new person. We have over 1800 members of the family here, and nobody knows everyone by name, including me. We also have first-time visitors every weekend, at almost every service. The field is ripe for the harvest.

I know you introverts are cringing already, almost as much as when I make you stand up and shake hands. But this is the simplest act of evangelism any Christian can take: smile and say hello, and call someone by name.

Why?  It comes back to the belonging. With so many people in one place, some folks may not feel like they belong, and then they drift away. But a Church Family that makes it feel like Home tends to find people not only coming, but staying.

How?  First, pray. Ask God to put someone new on your path today. Then, wear a nametag. Make it a point to find someone you don’t know. Introduce yourself with, “I don’t believe we’ve met…” (NEVER ask if they’re a visitor; who cares?!). Better still, join a group or an event you haven’t been a part of before. The ultimate? Go to a different service once!
​
So first, pray. Then try it. See how it goes. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Are you alive? Are you human?

Assuming you answered “yes,” praise God! He is responsible for both of those key elements in your existence: you are a living human being, since God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, things visible and invisible, also made you.

That seems rather pedestrian, doesn’t it? We say it every week in the Creeds, and it’s simple enough for even a child to understand. God is our Creator. Our, plural. As in all of us, every living thing, and especially human beings.

Some don’t believe that. It doesn’t matter. It’s the truth. (Side note #1: there is no such thing as “your truth” or “my truth;” there is only THE truth). Our belief or unbelief does not bring the truth of God into existence, nor does either spiritual condition of the human heart negate the truth.

For all the amazing developments in technology and science, we have yet to create life ex nihilo, out of nothing. Even in the miracle that is invitro fertilization, scientists use a living ovum and live sperm. Once they’ve expired, there is no resurrection. Once the egg or the sperm have wandered outside their God-given nest, they have relatively little time to fulfill their God-given purpose before they are, essentially, dead. Similarly, we have no cure to death, no medical ability to willfully, intentionally make the dead alive again.

But God can do all those things. He started with nothing and spoke everything into existence. He is the author, giver and Lord of all life. All things were made through Jesus: “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:3-4). When it comes to life, we cannot replace God, nor can we eliminate God. He is Life.

This is most certainly true in His creating new life, when He forms and shapes another human being in a mother’s womb. This has prompted the somewhat philosophical question: When does life begin? I prefer to approach the entire issue theologically, through the lens of Scripture, which means the God’s-eye-view of life. (Side Note #2: All Scripture is God’s Word and binding on the heart and mind of the Christian. Jesus calls us to obey everything, not just the parts we like).

The question I propose is: When does God begin creating each new human being?
Consider Psalm 139:13-16:

13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place,
       when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
       all the days ordained for me were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
 
Clearly the Lord of Life is working long before the child’s birthday. But Jeremiah 1:5 takes it back even further:
       “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, 
    before you were born I set you apart;”

And He did a great job! God says that we are His workmanship – His masterpiece – “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

God does not distinguish between born and unborn as possessing more or less value, more or less humanity. An unborn child can feel joy, as did John the Baptist in his mother’s womb upon the entrance of Mary and unborn Jesus (Luke 1:41-44). According to the blessings of today’s technology, we know that unborn babies also feel pain.

And both God and science affirm that the child in the womb is a he or she as their own person, with their own body, their own DNA, and their own life, compliments of God.

An article by James Lamb, Executive Director of Lutheran for Life, adapted in the Lutheran Study Bible (p. 983), recalls the 1920 publication by two German physicians of a book called The Permission to Destroy Life Unworthy of Life. They argued that “death assistance” should be extended to “empty shells of human beings,” such as those with brain damage or mental retardation. They argued that money spent for “meaningless life” could be used by those socially and physically fit. “It was just a matter of determining which lives were worthy of life.” Then came the Nazi death camps.

In our own country, the “Three-Fifths Compromise” in the 1787 Continental Congress which brought forth the US Constitution declared that slaves were to be counted as “3/5 of a person.” Aside from the political wranglings of “it’s better than nothing” and “it led to the Union that ultimately ended slavery,” it is not a proud moment for America in assigning lesser value – or none at all – to another human being.

Pastor Jason Braaten provides an excellent viewpoint that truly focuses on the heart of the life issue in today’s abortion debate: “If the unborn aren’t human, then we don’t need a reason to commit an abortion. But if the unborn are human, no explanation for abortion is good enough."
(https://files.lcms.org/file/preview/glt8Rg49nJZGEh8kn899FLlzz5WIFdI0).  
 
We hear all sorts of secondary questions (though still important) in this debate:  

• Doesn’t a woman have the right to choose what to do with her own body? Her body, yes. Another human being’s body, no.  My rights end where yours begin. The key in this situation is to love them both, mother and child, as God does.

 

• What if a poor woman can’t afford another child? If she comes to that conclusion when the child is 2, is it then acceptable to “terminate” (read: kill) a 2-year-old? Her unborn child is still a living human being. (Side note #3: This is precisely the situation where God’s people should and do spring into action, particularly in provided multiple levels of support to needy families. God sustains and defends the “fatherless and the widow,” and He does so through us.) 

 

• Isn’t a fetus a bunch of cells? Yes. So are you. So am I. The value of human life does not depend upon what someone can or cannot do. God places supreme value on all human life, regardless of their stage in life. 

​

• What about cases of rape and incest? This is tragic beyond words, and pastorally I will not use the heavy hand of the Law to heap guilt on top of victimization. I would gently encourage the woman to consider adoption, and to remember her Creator and Redeemer. (Side note #4: Neither Scripture nor I would have any problem with lawful government, as God’s servant for justice, initiating capital punishment for rapists and child molesters, but that’s another issue).  

 
You are certainly free to disagree with me; no harm there. If you are a Christian, you are not free to disagree with God. He is very clear on Who owns life, and it ain’t you or me.

Listen to what He says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God in your body.” Heed also the warning of Jesus, for those who want to clear the way for others to go against God: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6).

I am reminded of this every time I hear glittering atrocities like “reproductive rights” and “women’s healthcare.” I cannot bring myself to align myself with someone who dehumanizes a child created by and through Jesus Christ. That strikes me as idolatry.
 
This I know, from God Himself:  Life belongs to God, begins at God, and ends at God. Not anyone else.

Apatheists just don’t care.

I first encountered the word in Lutheran Hour Ministry’s video-based Bible study, “The Journey from Unbelief to Faith.” In the fourth session of the study, a young gamer named Tyler Mann used it to describe one of the three categories of unbelief systems that he like to argue with: atheists, agnostics and apatheists.

Tyler himself had grown up an atheist, and had also taken up a serious interest in online gaming (video games, not gambling). He eventually entered into online discussions with believers and unbelievers alike. Tyler loved to argue the Bible, using it to attack believers who weren’t aware of what it said.

Tyler describes his attitude: “I didn’t care about what the Bible actually said. I cared about arguing, and basically telling Christians and other believers that they were wrong.”

Tyler is a very intelligent guy; he immersed himself in the Bible, not with an intent to believe, but to gain ammunition for his arguments. He soon learned, as he engaged Christians in theological debates, that “I knew more about the Bible than they did.” Here come the Apatheists.

Apatheist is not actually a new term. It was first coined by sociologist Stuart Johnson in 1972. And it’s really not a belief system as much as an attitude: apatheists just don’t care. In the broadest sense, they fit in well with atheists and agnostics, except those groups often are quite passionate in advocating for their unbeliefs.

The more dangerous apatheists are the ones Tyler encountered online: people who indicate some level of “belief” in God, but make no effort to actually live by faith, or even know who He is or what He says. Tyler quotes James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” As the Holy Spirit gradually broke down Tyler’s walls and led Him to believe Jesus and His Word, Tyler concluded, “It’s not enough to believe that God exists. Do you trust what He says? Do you trust His promises?”

Do you trust Him with your life? What difference does Jesus make in your life? Can anyone else tell that difference?

Jesus saves you from sin, from death and from the power of the devil – not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death. Perhaps the greatest adversary He saves you from, is you. His amazing unbounded grace – a love as undeserved as it is unconditional – drives Him to seal the deal on salvation for you. When Jesus breathes His last on the cross and says, “It is finished,” (John 19:30), He’s not just marking the end of His own life. He’s proclaiming the end of your death.

You and I – two of the most deserving targets of God’s anger on earth – are instead saved from ourselves by His grace, and then handed the keys to the Kingdom by His gift of faith. This is not an intellectual ascent or a reasoned conclusion. Faith is God opening our eyes, our hearts and our lives.

Jesus calls us to be, to believe and to belong. He calls us children of God, because that is what we are through His sacrificial love (1 John 3:1). He calls us to believe in who He is and trust what He says (John 14:1-14). He calls us to belong to Him, as the One who resuscitates and resurrects us by His own power of Resurrection (Romans 1:6).

But do you care?

Jesus is not an acquaintance, and the Bible is not a coffee table book. When Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15), He makes it intensely personal. Scripture tells us, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord,” (1 Peter 3:15), and then calls upon us to be ready to explain that. Jesus as Lord means He is your top priority in life, your source of strength and hope, and your very best friend Who is with you always. And you treasure spending as much time with Him as you can. He is your everything or your nothing; no in-between. You have a daily conversation with your Lord.

His Word, then, becomes our breath and blood. This is no longer ink on a page, nor is it a collection of cute stories and catchy sayings. The Bible is not a meme. This is God talking; this is Jesus revealing to you and reminding you of all that can be, in every moment of life, when Jesus is your Lord.

Christian comedian Jeff Allen talks in his act about his conversion from atheism to Christ. A comedian friend tried to talk to him about the Bible, but Jeff kept pushing back, saying, “Ah, don’t give me the Bible. I don’t want to hear the Bible.”

The friend says, “What do you mean?”

Jeff: “I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in that garbage.”

His friend: “What is it about the Bible you don’t think is true?”

Jeff said, “I don’t know. I never read it.”

He said, “Well, you’re not an atheist; you’re a moron!” Jeff asked him to explain himself and the man told him, “To be honest, a true atheist is not only a Biblical scholar but is scholarly in all the faiths of the earth. And after a long intellectual journey has come to the conclusion that there is no God of the universe. You, on the other hand, want to circumvent the entire intellectual process and just come to the conclusion that there’s no God. That’s lazy and moronic.”

To avoid that same fair and accurate accusation, I want to challenge you to go deeper, grow stronger, and get healthier in your faith by resolving to care: Care about Jesus; care about His Word. No apatheism. Genuine faith come to life.

Three ways that the Lord can snap you out of the lazy haze of indifference:

1. Be in the Word on your own. At home, in the car, wherever. You and Jesus. We’ll help you make a plan.

2. Be in the Word with your Family. Come over to God’s house, EVERY TIME YOU CAN! Don’t get lazy on worship.

3. Be in the Word with a group. Finding a few people who get it and get you can help you experience a much richer and fuller faith life in Christ. It worked for Tyler. We’ll set you up with a group, or help you and your friends get started. Message me or Pastor Chad.

​
You cannot have a relationship with someone you never talk with or spend time with. You matter to Jesus. He cares about you. He loves being with you and living life together. It’s time to care back. Don’t be a moron.