LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1971, Page 92

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$2 EVENING DEVOTIONS

of it! They had to wake Jesus up to their peril, and this evening. “Lord,” faith replies, “because while we
they let Him know that to them His sleeping was a sign believe, we stil] plead with You to help our unbelief!”
that He didn’t care what was happening to them. Then, but only then, will Jesus arise and rebuke our

those waters in which we will surely drown, organizing Amen.

and reorganizing ourselves as the only sure way to II

keep the church from going under, throwing our spoken JOHN 6: 66-69

words and our printed words into the teeth of the gale In the Name of J esus

as the only Possibility of bringing it to subside, brother “After this many of His disciples drew back and

arguing with brother even to the calling of names for no longer went about with Him.” After what? Jesus
rver getting us into this mess: and why? Ultimately had just fed the five thousand with a little boy’s lunch,

doctrine to correct practice, from improper fellowship Messiah, so much so that they promptly set about trying

to budget deficiencies, but the inescapable fact, ines- to make Jesus their king. When Jesus would have

capable because the Lord of the church accuses us of it none of it, they were even quite willing to use force

is that we are only men and men of little faith at that. on Him, certainly not to harm Him, but to elevate and

God help the church if it depends on us for its sur- magnify and glorify Him in the eyes of all. That, how-
vival. It depends altogether and only on Jesus Christ, ever, was not the purpose for which Jesus had come,
whether we regard Him as asleep or wide-awake to and neither the devil nor the religious leaders nor well-
our needs. Only let’s be sure that all of our activity and intentioned people could tempt Him to do other than

resolutions and pro and con arguments are not our God’s will and walk other than on the way that led

effort to escape His rebuke when He asks us Why are to the cross. So Jesus withdrew from the people who

of little faith!” Better that we cry aloud to Him to be, and He went back into the hills to be by Himself
wake Him up if we think He is asleep, than attempt alone. But He never was alone because He was always
to fasten our little rope around Him in order to hold with the Father and the Father was always with Him,
Him up if worse comes to worst! Better that we sit still so that whenever He sought solitude, it was only to
under His Penetrating questioning of us by which He hold converse again with the Father and be strength-
shows us where we 80 wrong than accuse Him of caring ened for doing the Father's will,

Whatever else we may see here, we surely see that
any attempt to make Jesus anything is doomed to fail-
ure, and we are always left with No-Jesus. He is the

that Jesus is in the boat with us, however Joudly and and that’s why all modern efforts to boost Jesus and to
insistently we call him Lord and try to wake Him up make Him what we'd like to have Him are doomed to
to being Lord as we think He should be. failure. It may even be that that’s why also the church
“Why are you afraid?” our Lord still asks us, even the crowds which Jesus miraculously feeds, ends up
especially us here in convention assembled as His with full spiritual stomachs, complacently certain that
church. If we say that we are not afraid, then we de- it can handle Jesus and even elevate Him to the throne
ceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, and we will which it has made for Him but where you look in vain
remain men of little faith and even become men of amid all the words and claims for the Jesus who is the
no faith as we refuse to let the Lord Himself tell us Christ. He always withdraws when there are mighty
what is really wrong with us. But if we confess our arguments and concerted efforts and political campaigns
fear and own up that our actions and our words are to have Him be what He ought to be and how He ought
only too often prompted by fear, then the Lord will to be according to our own best convictions Can we
forgive us also our fear and yet bring us to see the still find Him in our midst?
miracle that the church still is by virtue of His presence But the crowds found Jesus again because they

in it. “Why are you afraid?” Jesus is asking us again ardently sought Him. After all, doesn’t He Himself