We have a personal relationship with our God! Through the work of restoration provided by Jesus Christ alone, we have a personal relationship, fellowship, and the ability to walk with God. And the best part is that none of that can ever be achieved outside of Christ. Not our works, not our words, and especially not our traditions or extra-biblical rules. And I have to confess that even though I know and believe everything I just said to the very core of my being, as a Christian who just happens to be Lutheran…I am kind of uncomfortable with that. Can anyone relate?

Today’s gospel lesson speaks rather directly to this; something I think we can all relate to on at least one level or another. As it was back then, so it is today: the tension between knowing and believing in Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, and the things we come up with for the sake of appearing righteous to God, is a never-ending conflict of the mind and heart. We wrestle between Submission vs. Tradition, Heart-service vs. Lip-service, and Slavery to the Sin Nature vs. Bondservant Hood to Christ. It is the vanity of works vs. the splendor of surrender to God.

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