1. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this New Year’s Day is taken from Romans 8:31-39, it’s entitled, “New Year…No Fear!” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Romans 8:31-39 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
3. There she was in all her glory, sitting on the piano. Not on the piano bench, not on the keyboard, she was sitting on the top of the piano, grinning from ear to ear, clearing off all the knickknacks her chubby arms could reach. Just nine months old and could she climb! She had not yet mastered walking, but when it came to climbing, she was an expert. Stairs were a breeze. The furniture had all been conquered. She would climb anything. When her father came around the corner, he caught his breath as he saw her on her perch. He tried not to frighten her—even though his heart was thumping. If she fell . . . if she hit her head . . . if she was hurt . . . So, her father smiled reassuringly and walked up slowly. No reason to worry about her being frightened. She felt safe and secure. This was her element. She was born to climb! As her father drew near, he held out his hands to her and she jumped right off the piano into his arms. She did not wait for him to take hold of her before she jumped—she did not even wait for him to get all that close—she launched herself while he was still a couple of feet away! Yes, her dad caught her.
4. Her brothers were always timid about this sort of thing. They had to be coaxed to jump down one step as their dad held on to them. Not this man’s daughter. His heart stopped on numerous occasions as she has taken a flying leap off the top of the steps, just assuming that her dad would be there to catch her. He was, and he did, but what if he wasn’t and didn’t? Such a thought never crossed her mind. He is her Daddy. He can be trusted. He has never let her down.
5. If a person could read this little girl’s mind, you’d find a job description entitled “Daddy,” and one of the main responsibilities would be catching. It probably comes right after cuddling and tickling. Somewhere, in there she also keeps track of successes and failures, and because her father has never missed, he never will.
6. This level of trust is awesome . . . and frightening. Having someone look to you with complete confidence is a great responsibility, a burden. We may wonder if we too are fit to carry such a burden. What about failure? What if we miss? What if we neglect our duty? What would go through the person’s head who depends on us?
7. You can almost hear it. “Daddy can no longer be trusted. Daddy does not care if I fall down and get hurt. Daddy does not love me anymore.” A father who loves his children could not bear to hear these words! As fathers we want our children’s image of us to be one of perfection, and yet we as man can struggle under that burden. Maybe this is why daddies buy too many presents, allow too many freedoms, and forgive without discipline. We all know that we fall short. So, we struggle to cover for our shortfalls in other ways.
8.
As
a father, if I don’t get home in time to tuck the kids into bed and read them a
story, I buy them a book. If I missed
the day, my daughter first dressed herself, I buy her some new clothes.
If I was late for my children’s piano recital, I let them stay up late that
night and irritate the one who has to deal with them the next day.
9. Have you ever desired to be the trusting one rather than the one trusted? What a joy, a relief it would be to have one upon whom we could place absolute, complete trust. Rather than bear the burden, the burden would be on someone else. But there are no perfectly trustworthy people—no perfect daddies—in this untrusting world. We have heard of and seen the flaws and imperfections, the failures, the tarnished images. Still, it would be nice, wonderful, a great relief to have someone to lean upon without a shadow of doubt before our eyes.
10. Well, there is someone who is for us. There is someone who did not spare. There is someone who sends to stand in our place. There is someone who justifies. There is someone who intercedes. There is one who has withstood every test, one who can be leaned upon with absolute trust, one who catches us every time, one who never misses. Really! Check out his record. When mankind made the fatal leap into sin, it was the Lord God who provided the rescue. The Lord made the move, made the catch, took the responsibility even though we deserved it not.
11. “If you are dumb enough to jump off the top of the piano, you will just have to figure out how to catch yourself.” Never entered our Heavenly Father’s mind! “If you want to climb on furniture, you had better be prepared to pay the price.” Never occurred to our Heavenly Father! “You are the ones who disobeyed me and ate the fruit. It is your problem! Save yourselves!” Our Father in heaven did not entertain such a thought. He provided the rescue . . . but consider the cost.
12. The catch, the rescue, was made not with gold or silver, but with the holy, precious blood of his only-begotten Son. God did not compromise his nature. He could have said, “Well, we will let it go this time.” “That’s all right, next time you will know better.” He could have said . . . actually, he could not have said. To do so would be to go against who he is, to go against his just nature. Sin had to be atoned for, payment made. God’s justice demands payment, but God’s love and mercy provides the price. At great cost, at great sacrifice, he who is for us did not spare his only Son. He provided the Lamb for redemption. The Lamb, Jesus Christ. Jesus, the sacrifice on a cross, painfully suffering the agony of hell, pouring out his lifeblood for us. And then the words, “It is finished,” and God declared, “Paid in full!”
13. What a catch! The greatest catch ever made by a father. One-handed, almost over the wall catch. God the Father continues his error-free streak. Each day, every year, we push it to the limit. We look over the edge, we take the risks. Each day, every year, we find ourselves immersed in tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, under the sword. And each day, every year, our Lord protects, provides, rescues us from dangerous perches. He has never missed, and because he is our God, he never will. Earthly fathers dare not make such a promise, but God our Father can and does. His love and mercy are strong and perfect. He never wants to miss. His power and strength are awesome. Therefore, he never does. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b).
14. A new day, a New Year . . . what lies in store? The known is frightening, the unknown is terrifying. Yet God speaks to us through St. Paul: Do not be afraid, because “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (vv 37–39). God is for us. Do not be afraid! Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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