Not In the Strength of The Horse Nor The Speed of The Runner

Last week I was driving to work feeling like a big zero. My primary vocation is "mother" and I was not feeling terribly successful. In fact I was feeling like I was failing. Parenting teenagers is not for the faint of heart...

On Saturday I went to a presbytery meeting and there were several people "examined" before being approved as ministers of Word and sacrament. One of the questions asked one of the candidates was concerning infant baptism. I thought of my answer (which btw was Martin Luther's originally). When Luther baptised infants, he stood before the congregation with the baby in his arms and quoted the scripture that says, "See what love the Father has for us that we would be called children of God. And so we are."

What Luther was saying is that when you look at a baby it's clear that he or she brings nothing to God. Not their faith, not their works. Nothing. The truth of the matter is that no matter what age you are, you bring nothing to God. Even faith is a gift granted by the grace of God. If you have it, it's only because God has given it to you. Even all of the potential for good embodied in the life of an infant is there as a gift from God (no one can take credit for their intelligence, beauty, etc.).

So riding down the road last week I was brought back to the reality that I may fail in my primary vocation (I hope not), but even if I do, I'm not a big zero. God is not so interested in what I bring to the table in terms of what I can do for Him. Instead, He's seeking one thing: love. Mine and yours. Like the baby being baptized, he loves us because he does. And that's what He hopes to receive back from us. It's really the only thing we have to offer Him.

Psalm 147: 10-11
"His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love."