Without faith it is impossible to please him
Hebrews 11:6a

Throughout the Bible, we certainly learn what the will of God is. It’s what He wants us to do. It’s how He created and ordered all things. When sin came into the world, that disrupted the flow of God’s will. We certainly see in Scripture that when one does something contrary to the will of God, he/she faces a punishment (see Genesis 2:17 and Romans 6:23).

Jesus gives us the two greatest commandments on loving God with our whole being and our neighbors as ourselves. And we struggle there. I am sure more often than we’d care to admit!

And if we’re doing God’s will, we’d think He’d be pleased. Yet Hebrews 11:6 says differently.

In other words, no matter what we do, whether following God’s commandments or not, it is possible to be outside of God’s will? Short answer is yes. Faith in Jesus and his death and resurrection is truly what separates us from the rest of the world. It is how we can understand what makes it important that even being a “good person” is not enough.

This has led us in the Lutheran circles to our understanding of vocation and what we do in life! Whether in your life you choose to be a doctor, a pastor, a teacher, or a janitor, by faith in Jesus, you are in God’s will. You’re pleasing God.

Before Pastor Sippy made his announcement to accept the call to serve at Lenoir Woods in Columbia, MO, I was able to meet with him. In that moment, I was visiting with him as his pastor. Mae these decisions are not easy. There are so many things that need to be considered and prayed over. It is a good thing to seek pastoral counsel.

And I was able to share with him these thoughts. No matter how Jeff responded to the calls (there were two prior to the decision: Here at Redeemer and also to Lenoir Woods) he is in God’s will. Jeff has faith in Jesus.

Now that we are in a midst of a pandemic when people have been battling a viral infection, we have been sequestered to our homes, and our society is slowly reopening, are we in God’s will? Yes!

Are we pleasing God? Yes!

Can we as Redeemer Lutheran Church be confident during this time of transition be confident that we are still in God’s will? Yes!

To do God’s will is to please God. And to please God is to maintain steadfast in the faith that we have that God has given us in His only Son, our Lord…Jesus Christ the Crucified and Resurrected One!

Gracious Father, keep us in this true faith unto life everlasting so that we may continue to please You and to be in Your will. Amen.

Written by: Pastor Bartholomew