Some disciples of John the
Baptist were questioning him about the baptism and preaching of Jesus. Many disciples were going to Jesus instead of
John the Baptist.
John the Baptist answers: “A person cannot receive even one thing
unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).
John the Baptist says this to
show that Jesus, His teaching, and His baptism are from heaven. God provides everything we have in body and
soul.
We are taught this in the meaning
of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small
Catechism.
In the First
Article of the Creed, we learn that God has made us and everything in the
universe.
“He has given me my
body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and
still takes care of them. He also gives
me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land,
animals, and all I have. He richly and
daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards
and protects me from all evil. All this
He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or
worthiness in me. For all this it is my
duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.”
In the Second Article of the
Creed, we learn that God sent His Son, Jesus, to humble Himself by taking
the form of a servant.
In
so doing, He “has redeemed me, a lost and
condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, 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, that I may be His own and live under
Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and
blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all
eternity.”
In the Third Article of the
Creed, we learn that the fruits of what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did
are given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church.
“That I cannot by my own reason or strength
believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has
called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me
in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and
sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ
in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives
all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life
to me and all believers in Christ.”
Indeed, “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from
heaven.”
But how easy is this for us to
forget? How easy is it for us to think
that what we have in life is because we have earned it?
How easy is it for us to forget
that all our skills – the abilities of our hands and minds, the ethic to work
diligently, and the desire to improve – is given to us from heaven, just as
John the Baptist said?
How easy is it for us to forget
that it is Christ alone, and the work of the Holy Spirit, that reveals His
salvation to us, delivers it to us, and that none of this is our doing?
Sure, we have responsibility for
coming to church, for delving into God’s Holy Word, and for praying without
ceasing.
But even these responsibilities
are given to us from heaven. These
duties are not earned; they are given in response to what He has accomplished
for us.
Everything we have, and
everything we are – in both body and soul – are gifts from God in heaven.
Let us then respond in
thanksgiving and give back to Him as He asks – with a first-fruits, generous
proportion offering of what He has given to us.
