How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." The poet knew something about love, didn't he? We all need to know we are loved. Not only do we need to know that, we need to know the ways in which we are loved. We long to hear the words and count the ways. If we feel we are not loved, it is debilitating. If we feel we are loved, it provides incredible energy. We feel like we can climb mountains and overcome any obstacle.
And so it was in the life of God's people, Israel. They counted the ways of God's love again and again. They especially did this when they faced great challenges. They knew that if they forgot about God's love they would not be equal to the task, and they knew that with God's love they could overcome every obstacle. In fact, some have said that the whole Bible is simply the story of people recounting God's love. And that's true, isn't it? As we recount God's love, we are empowered.
In our Crossways course we have studied a lot of the great moments of people recounting God's love for them. One of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, occurs at the end of the book of Joshua. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the people of Israel stand poised on the border of the Promised Land. Joshua knows that only as they remember the love of the God who has brought them this far, will they be able to take control of the land. Only as they commit to him, will they be equal to the task ahead. And so he recounts to them all the incredible acts of God's loving care in the past. He talks about the promise to Abraham. The deliverance from Egypt. And God's loving provision for them in the wilderness. Then Joshua divides the nation of Israel into two companies before the town of Shechem. And he puts each company on a high hill. One company shouts out all the blessings that come from allegiance to the Lord. The other company shouts out all the curses, all the consequences that come from living the selfish life, from turning your back on God. And then Joshua issues a challenge: Choose this day whom you will serve!
And as we reflect on the passage from Isaiah 43, we see another great moment of the people of Israel recounting God's acts of love. Again the people are facing a great challenge. They have been living in exile in Babylon for two generations. They have almost given up hope of returning to their land. But now the prophet Isaiah announces that returning to their land is possible if they will trust God. And yet they are afraid..
So what does the prophet do for them? In one of the most beautiful passages in scripture he recounts God's love. How much does God love them? Let's count the ways. God says, "I created you, I redeemed you, I called you by name" Which is to say, "You are my precious children and I have a purpose for you, and I will never let you go." Then we come to special and beautiful promises. God says that even if they have to pass through dangerous waters, they will not overwhelm them. A clear reference to how he saved Israel by parting the Red Sea. And then he says that even if they pass through fire, they shall not be burned. A reference to the Daniel story and how not even a hair on their heads were singed because of God's protection. In fact, if they trust in God and put aside their fear, the water will cleanse them and the fire refine them. Little wonder that a lot of people have committed these verses to memory as a personal promise to each of us.
And so moving out of history and into our personal experience, here's the question: we stand on the brink of a new year and we face new challenges. Are we going to regularly and consistently count the ways of God's love for us? You know, God gave us the Third Commandment for a good reason. Every Sunday, as we worship, we count the ways we are loved; and that knowledge equips us to face life with courage. When we don't gather to count the ways, we experience the consequences: we grow weak, we grow afraid, we are not equal to life's tasks.
In this regard, maybe you read the first page of The Lutheran magazine for January. In this brief devotional, Pastor Jeff Marian makes the observation that we have become a nation of whiners. He asserts that some people in our country have turned whining into an art form. He asserts that we need to spend a whole lot less time whining and a whole lot more of our time recounting how much God loves us and how much we have been given even though we don't deserve it. This is the way we equip ourselves to serve God and improve the lives of those around us.
And as we face a new year, not only are we called upon to count the ways of God's love; we are also called to assume a positive attitude. Maybe some of you have heard the old story about the fellow who moved to a new town. One of the first stops he made was to the local grocery store. He asked the proprietor, "How are the people in this town. What are they like?" The proprietor responded, "Well, what were they like in the town you came from?" The man replied, "I didn't like them. They were hard to get along with. They were uncooperative." The proprietor responded, "I think you will find the people here pretty much the same." The next day another man moved into town. His first stop was also this grocery store. He said, "I'm new to town. What are the people like here?" The proprietor asked the same question, "What were they like in the town you came from?" The man replied, "They were pleasant and cooperative. I liked them." The proprietor replied, "I think you will like it here. You will find that people are pretty much the same."
I think we get the point. Our own attitude is going to have a lot to do with how we experience life in our own church and community. And what should be the attitude of people who are loved as much as we are?
And I think there is another question Isaiah raises that is also critical as we face a new year. It has to do with our commitment to our Lord. In my time in Iowa during the week after Christmas I spent quite a bit of time listening to two volumes of cassette tapes, preparing myself for a healing conference in Florida in February. On one of the tapes a Christian psychologist, Norma Dearing, shared a very interesting story, and she invited us to think about our relationship to Jesus in light of this story. She asks us to think about our life as a car and ask ourselves: where is Jesus in our car?
She says that for many people Jesus is not even in the car. They know something about Jesus. They have a nodding acquaintance with him. They drive around and see Jesus standing on the street corner. They may even know he wants to be in the car, but they don't pick him up. They want to be in total control. They have no room for Jesus.
But some people do pick Jesus up. However, they don't let him in the car proper. They put him in the trunk. He is like the jack they would use if they had a flat tire. They consult Jesus in an emergency. Otherwise, they want nothing to do with him.
Others, let Jesus get into the back seat. This allows them to ask for advice occasionally, but for the most part they still ignore him.
Still others invite Jesus into the front seat. He begins to become a companion, and they consult him quite regularly about the direction in which they should go.
And finally there are those who let Jesus get into the driver's seat. They yield control and let him make all the decisions about the direction in which they should be heading. Early on they don't feel totally comfortable with this. There are moments when they want to tell him what to do. They sometimes even have the desire to yank the wheel out of his control. But the more they yield and the more they trust they see that he knows exactly what he is doing.
As we enter this new year, I think the most important question we can ask is: who is in the driver's seat in the car of my life?
As we enter the new year, I believe there are affirmations we have to make if our lives are going to be everything God intends them to be. I'd like to close by asking you to repeat them after me.