July 7th Here I Stand: The Least of These
Here I Stand: For the Least of These!
This Sunday we are concluding our sermon series called “Here I Stand!” When we began this series, we talked about Dr. Martin Luther and his stand before the Church Council in Worms, Germany. He was asked to renounce what he had written about the Bible and about the hope that we have in the forgiveness of sins because of Jesus. Luther responded with these now famous words, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
Someone once told me that the big moments of history largely pivot on a man or a woman. In this case, Dr. Luther became a pivotal character in the Reformation. When we think back in history, the history of our country, we can probably note several people who made a pivotal difference: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and the founders of our country, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.
However, looking at history just through the eyes of the big men and women of history really does a disservice to many of us. Many today think that the only way they can make a difference is by doing something that puts their name in lights, and they hesitate to do anything. The reality is that the greatest impact on history is made by men and women who never receive any accolades, who never receive any recognition for what they have done.
In God’s Word, it is the little-known people who receive the praise and acclaim of God. During Jesus’ visit to the temple, we are told that Jesus acknowledged a widow who put in a donation equivalent to just a few pennies, yet Jesus said her faith was incredible. In the Old Testament, a widow named Ruth was acknowledged and wed to a man named Boaz. She was not even an Israelite, but she has a book of the Bible named after her and she ended up being a great grandmother of King David and in the lineage of our Savior.
When we title a sermon series like this with the title of “Here I Stand” it can leave us feeling that all we are talking about is the big kind of stance for our faith. Yet Jesus would remind us that our stance of faith and love is found in the little random acts of kindness that we are called to do in our daily life. Jesus said, whatever you do to the least of these, you have done unto me.
In this week’s message we are going to talk about taking our stand in the everyday, doing those “little” things that truly make a difference.
-Pastor Ken Harste