Category: Life Issues

In my college days I heard this statement more than once – “Oh, I couldn’t even think of having a child. The world is so messed up I wouldn’t want to bring a child into it.”

Fifteen years later, the environmental movement which was just gaining real steam in my early 20’s has now given us a new reason not to have children. Each person has a “carbon footprint”. This carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide that is a byproduct of the fossil fuels it takes to support a human life. These carbon dioxide emissions contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Global warming is (supposedly) threatening life on earth as we know it (or is it?).

Is it not reasonable to reduce the cause of all of this carbon dioxide pollution? Therefore some environmentalists are suggesting strict public policies on having babies – like the controversial one child policy in China. Now the majority of environmentalists holding this position aren’t advocating forced sterilizations and abortions like the Chinese government has done, but they are advocating additional taxes for having more than one or two children.

Is global warming real or not? This is a hotly debated issue and there are reputitable scientists on both sides of the issue. This is not really the question that is most important to answer. The more important issue here is God’s Word as it relates to children and having babies.

Genesis 1:26 -28

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (NKJV)

“Be fruitful and multiply” was actually the first command God gave human beings and it was a blessing! True this blessing came before Adam and Eve disobeyed God and fell into sin, but our sin does not negate the blessing God has given us in procreation.

How do we square God’s blessing and command to be fruitful and multiply with the opinion of some scientists that more human beings will destroy life as we know it?

When all mankind fell in Adam’s fall into sin, the blessing of children never ceased to be a blessing. If we look at the Biblical heroes of the faith in the Old Testament there is always great joy expressed in having children (and in many cases a lot of children!). Jesus Christ told his disciples to let the children come unto him – later admonishing them that child like faith is saving faith. It is a faith that trusts in the living Word. It is a faith that clings to the Savior and His cross. It is a faith that is given in baptism. A faith given to most of us as tiny babies – blessed with life eternal in the second birth given in baptism.

God’s Word affirms again and again that having children is a true blessing. And although we are born sinful, we are redeemed by Christ the crucified. Christ atoned for every person that ever lived and will ever live. The opinion, that limiting human reproduction will solve an environmental issue, is not in harmony with God’s Word or 2000 years of Christian thought and tradition based on that Word.

Due to sin, human beings do harm to one another and to the environment. But consider the following: You are a clerk at a convenience store. You are all alone on a hot summer day and crowds and crowds of people are coming into the store for slushies. You are furiously ringing up customers at the counter. You are so busy that you don’t have time to clean the counters and mop the floor. The trash bins are overflowing and in your exasperation you scream out, “I wish there weren’t all of these customers! They do nothing but make a mess!”

The store is making lots of money because the business is so good. A mess is certainly happening, but maybe the store is understaffed? Maybe the boss made an error by having only you cover the store on such a hot day.

In the midst of messy counters and sticky floors it sure seems like the cause is the people, but it isn’t. An extra person on duty probably would have made the perceived problem no problem at all. It wasn’t a factor of the amount of people; it was a matter of one more person in a vocation that was serving rather than being served.

The Christian Church has faced movements that have seen reproduction as something evil before. The Manicheans in the 4^th century are a great example (St. Augustine was a part of this movement in his youth and later strongly renounced it). They saw all flesh as being evil and only the spirit as being good. They therefore saw procreation as a bad thing. The Church using God’s Word responded with Christ’s birth, the Incarnation. Christ took on human flesh. He is true man. He is true God. He remains forever true God and true Man and He has redeemed human flesh. Original sin and our own personal sins cannot overcome what Jesus has accomplished in His incarnation, death and resurrection.

When faced with the opinion that limiting the amount of humans will help save the world, just keep this mind: If the all knowing, all powerful Father created people knowing that we would sin and ruin everything and He created us anyway, how can we who are not all knowing ever think that cutting down on the amount of the pinnacle of God’s creation, humans, will solve any problem? Christ became one of us! He took mankind into God! He sends his Holy Spirit to work through us to speak His Word and to strengthen us to serve our neighbor in love.

Maybe the better solution to any environmental problems we may face is another person, freed by God’s grace, to serve his or her neighbor.

by Jon Townsend

In Gloucester, MA at the local high school there was a sharp increase in the number of pregnancies amongst the students – four times higher than normal. This sparked a debate about handing out contraception in the school – even without parental permission. TIME Magazine asked the principal Dr. Joseph Sullivan about the issue and he responded: “a lack of birth control played no part” …. “That bump was because of seven or eight sophomore girls,” Sullivan told TIME. “They made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together.”

The media glommed onto the story. It was in all the papers. It was debated on the radio and every talking head on cable news had every pundit possible show up to talk about sexual education – pro and con – or contraception in schools – pro and con – or the psychological reasons for it – was it the movie Juno or was it Jamie Lynn Spears or was it social isolation?

The Christian answer to the question “Why?” is our sinful nature. Regardless of how educated one is, regardless of the means one has to avoid natural consequences, regardless of what one watches or whom one idolizes or one’s familial and social circumstances – our sinful nature is looking for something or someone to fulfill it, to soothe it, to make it well again. It will never find peace and comfort where it should be found because Christ wants our sinful nature put to death. The old Adam is forever doing his own thing and trying to escape God’s punishment. He is broken beyond repair. The New Man, in Christ, the baptized Christian, however, is saved and free from the curse of the Law and the sting of death — and therein lies the hope for us and for those looking for fulfillment apart from Christ.

Old Adam vs. New Creation – A battle that cannot be won by Law.

The young ladies in the story aren’t talking much, but it was generally reported that they were in the “at-risk” category – they didn’t have stable families, they hung out with the wrong crowd – there are a lot of things lacking in their lives that would provide them with the ideal environment in which to spend their teenage years. In one of the TIME Magazine reports on the subject it was quoted that some of the girls involved wanted “unconditional love” and they were hoping that a baby would provide that.

Think about that for a minute from a Lutheran perspective: We all were born in sin and in iniquity did our mothers conceive us. Although helpless and cute, babies are not without sin. That is why Christ baptizes them! Unconditional love is not something that can be found in other sinful humans, but our families are to be models of Christian love. Christian love is not human dependent but is living a life of forgiveness and mercy that comes from Christ alone. Parents are to care for and support their children in their earthly needs the best they can, but they are to especially take care of their children’s foremost need; that the Word of God and Means of Grace are available to them. Christian love is giving away what you haven’t earned, but rather what Christ has.

If the young ladies in this story are from homes without a proper concept of Christian love and their families have not enforced a more practical lifestyle upon them, they are looking to correct the problem by starting over with a new family. They are hoping that a new relationship, in which they as the parent (“I won’t make the same mistakes my parents made” LOL) and the still “innocent” new life will wipe the slate clean.

The problem is that this is an old Adam solution – no human relationship is going to repair the damage of sin. There is only one “birth” that makes our slates clean and that was the virgin birth of our Lord who gives us a second birth in Baptism.

We could approach this overall problem for the perspective of the Law: We could curb teenage pregnancy by punishing the people involved. We could show them the error of their ways and shame them. We could show them role models of other kids that have become great successes by being chaste. Or we could take a more worldly law approach and find ways to take away the outcomes of uncontrolled natural impulses.

Is any of this going to bring about true repentance, forgiveness, and change? The answer is no.

The relationship with the Child of the only unwed-but-virgin mother is the answer. Repentance and mercy must be preached into the broken homes. Forgiveness must be offered to fallen sinners and to those tempted to sin. Especially when there is no family available where all gather around the dinner table nightly, to give thanks and to “break bread,” the Lord’s Table must be shown as the meal together with our heavenly family. Here the love between Father and Son is perfect and proceeds to call, enlightens and sanctifies us in the Holy Spirit.

Policies and programs, teachers and school boards can do their best to use their God-given reason to help curb the manifestations of sin in our schools and world, but the true answer to the problem is in the hands of our Lord and His Church. The answer for our own personal chastity lies in Word and Sacrament and daily repentance and contrition. God will answer our prayers and send us comfort and escape from temptation when the old Adam is screaming at us to use his solutions.

We also have the ultimate honor to invite those who are hurting and looking for sinful solutions to come with us, to come home to Church, where they too can receive the forgiveness that is lacking in our families and is fed on food that gives us life and salvation.

by Jon Townsend

Lately my husband, David, and I have been watching HGTV’s “House Hunters” show in the evenings after our children go to bed. Many of the commercials are various HGTV stars promoting and encouraging viewers to “change the world…start at home.” Of course they want me to do this by changing my light bulb, turning off unused appliances (or buy new, more efficient ones), or some other such “green” thing. But I change the world more by being a mother who stays home, fulfilling my role as a woman.

I’ve always wanted to be a mother. In my public high school senior ethics class, I remember that another girl asked me, “Do you really think that you can be a stay-at-home mother in today’s world? Or is that just your dream.” I replied “Yes, I believe it.” The only other one who agreed with me was the Roman Catholic girl in the class.

During a particular hard time of freshman year of college, I wrote home to my mom saying, “I wish I was barefoot and pregnant! Then everything would be better.” Mom made sure I wasn’t thinking of doing anything stupid (I wasn’t) and that I knew that there were also problems with being “barefoot and pregnant.”

My belief that a woman should stay home and raise the children was put to the test upon returning to the seminary for David’s fourth year of study after vicarage. We had our first child, a daughter who would be a year old that fall, and I was given the option of teaching full time at the same school I had taught during his second year of studies. It would be “perfect.” David’s older brother, a first year student, and his wife would be willing to baby-sit. I could use my college degree, and we would be better off financially. I was ready to say yes. But then I realized what I would miss: Hannah and all the new things she would learn and need to learn. No, David and I decided that I needed to be the one to care for her and teach her. So I declined the offer.

12 years later, I am the mother of five children and I am blessed. I am the one that has wiped their noses and bottoms, kissed their owies, bandaged their cuts, washed their clothes, cooked their food, made their beds, swept their floors, taught them to fold their hands and when to make the sign of the cross. I am the one that has said prayers with them, and for them, spanked them, hugged them, read to them, and sat with them in church every Sunday. I am the one that they have yelled at, cried for, and run to when they are afraid or sick. They trust I’ll always be there for them, and with God’s grace, I will.

It isn’t easy, there are trials, tribulations, and hurts which are different for each family. Every vocation has its cross to bear, and motherhood has its share. Children rebel and sometimes turn away from parents and the Lord. The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature work hard tempting us to do many other things. But don’t run from your calling. What God ordains is always good, even the roles of father and mother, and He will bring about good from those callings even though it isn’t clearly seen now or ever.

God has given me great goodness through motherhood: He has brought me out of selfishness and into servanthood. He has given me a greater understanding of His love and forgiveness for His children though they err and fall away again and again and again. And, of course, He places more prayers on my lips. In no way am I perfect, but often as I clean up my children’s messes, I think how God cleans up my messes and I thank and praise Him for pulling me ever closer to Him; for forgiving and loving me and therefore allowing me to forgive and love my children.

Yes, you can change the world by starting at home, by staying at home. As I tell my girls, “When God blesses you with children, stay home and raise them.” And I tell my boys, “Work to support your wife so that she may be home to raise your children.” I pray that God grant them and you the strength to do such good works as being fathers and mothers to His precious little ones.

by Glenda Mumme

The way we dress communicates something about us, doesn’t it? Some professions have ways of dressing that identify people as having certain vocations. Whether they are actual uniforms or unique attire, we can usually pick out of a crowd someone who works in the medical field by her scrubs, a member of the clergy by his clerical collar, a road construction worker by his orange vest and hardhat, or even the pairs of local Mormon missionaries by their black pants, white shirts, and clean-cut hairstyles.

Did you know that according to Scripture, wives have something of a “uniform” for their vocation? St. Paul taught the Corinthian Christians the tradition of women covering their hair after marriage. By covering their heads, adult women in the early church dressed modestly and showed honor for their husbandly, spiritual heads.

Headcovering is a tradition that has largely fallen out of practice today. Just a generation or two ago, a proper lady wouldn’t dream of leaving the house hat-less. But things have changed since then. Sure, some pious Christian women follow certain rules about wearing head-coverings and unique styles of clothes – most often people associate head-coverings with members of Amish, Mennonite, or other more “fringe” groups. However, doing so also sets them apart, rather conspicuously, from the prevailing American culture…which seems (in my mind anyway) to defeat the entire purpose of dressing “modestly.”

As with other traditions, Christian women are free to cover our heads – or not – if we so choose. There are all sorts of great reasons that this practice has been followed across many cultures for centuries. It was an easy way to identify a woman as married or “available” because a woman’s veiled head communicated that she had placed herself under her husband’s headship. Headcoverings of one sort or another have long been part of a modestly dressed woman’s normal attire. In fact, in New Testament times, adult women who went around with uncovered heads often had the profession of a prostitute. Who would want to be mistaken for being one of those?!

Strangely enough, the tradition of women covering their heads after marriage still carries the same message today that it always has – a woman is respecting the headship of her husband. Even in a culture that considers “submission” a four-letter-word, and where more than half of marriages end in divorce, that message still comes across loud and clear. What has changed, however, is that an uncovered head (even a mostly uncovered body!) doesn’t necessarily communicate immodesty or advertise a prostitute’s body for sale anymore. In fact, a woman with a veiled head today often stands out quite clearly in a crowd.

So how’s a young woman to understand St. Paul’s instruction about women’s attire in 1 Corinthians 11? Thankfully, it’s possible to dress modestly – even fashionably – with today’s styles, without drawing all sorts of undue attention to yourself. And if you and your parents want to come up with some handy guidelines about necklines and skirt lengths to make your shopping trips easier, you’re free to do so. Or you can just wing it. Dressing modestly without flaunting your sexuality like a prostitute might is the easy part – it’s just clothing!

Honoring to your husband (or your father, or your future husband) by what you wear, and doing so inconspicuously… that’s a little trickier these days. A modern symbol comparable to a wife covering her head might be the wearing of a wedding ring. It’s a far more subtle symbol of the marital relationship than a veil or a scarf, but it communicates a similar message.

Don’t forget St. Peter also teaches that a woman’s true beauty doesn’t have anything to do with her hairstyle, clothing, or even her jewelry, but is, “…the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious,” (1 Peter 3:4, ESV). It’s simple to tie a scarf on your head and portray outward submission to your father or your husband out of fear of the Law. You might even secretly feel a little pride for being so obedient. But actually trusting him out of faith in Christ – with a gentle and quiet spirit that does not fear anything frightening (1 Peter 3:6) is far more precious and beautiful than any hat, scarf or veil you may wear.

And if you want to cover your head – whether married, single, at home, at church or all the time – you’re free to do that as well. Just remember that you have been washed and dressed in the garments your Bridegroom has given you in Baptism. Nothing beats the beautiful splendor of living in the forgiveness the Lord Himself has given you through His sacrifice for your sins.

by Sandra Ostapowich

In addition to being a writer myself, I teach writing at a university. On the first day of each new course, I talk to the students about the impact and far-reaching effects of writing. Students are considering their futures, their careers—where they will fit into the world, and how their lives will affect the people they encounter. I point out that if a person wants to change the world for the better, writing is one of the very best ways to do it. All that we know about the ancient world, we know because people wrote things down. We can feel what others have felt, see what they’ve seen, and understand something of their thoughts—all through the wondrous power of the written word to span time and geographic space.

 In John 15:16, Jesus tells His disciples that He chose and appointed them to bear lasting fruit . . . not simply fruit, but fruit that remains. That passage always speaks to me as a writer, because that is precisely what writers do: we produce “fruit” that stays on the page long after we move onward. As the writer of Hebrews says about Abel, who offered his best to the Lord: “through it he, being dead, still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

In particular, I love the genre of fantasy, having grown up as an avid fan of The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. I am drawn to the universality of fantasy. Because it is so often set in a time and place not our own, we focus as we read on the common ground we can find, on what we share with the characters—the emotions and the themes that are true for all people. Fantasy deals in archetypes; it is often rendered in epic, dramatic scenes that are larger than life. In following its characters through their overwhelming hardships, their struggles against all-but-unbeatable foes, we learn something of how to deal with our own lives. As a Christian, I understand how fantasy can thus be a vehicle for communicating the deepest truths.

Tolkien did this in some wonderful ways. His great story reinforces what the Bible teaches us of the value of striving, of giving the last measure of strength and devotion, of remaining true to a purpose and to the people one holds dear. Even more, The Lord of the Rings strikes dead-center with its portrayals of human weakness, of our absolute need for help from outside ourselves. An important concept for Tolkien was what he called the “eucatastrophe”: the final righting of things, the triumph of goodness despite all probability and expectation. Christian faith is based on eucatastrophe—on God’s sudden unraveling of the black night of death into the glorious light of resurrection—our Lord’s, and ours through Him.

Consider: so much secular fiction presupposes that the notions of good and evil are childish, that a happy ending is unrealistic, and that we are deluded to look for help anywhere but in our own resourcefulness. Our own life experience shows us that the non-believing world doesn’t have the full picture. There is a God in control. We see great evil in the world, but we also feel the supporting hand of a greater Good. Like buckets lowered into deep wells, fantasy stories—with their grand arcs and undiluted emotions, their underlying sense of a Plan—have the freedom to draw up life as it is on its purest levels.

Ironically, in the field of Christian fiction today, the major publishers have rigid guidelines that would prevent a story like Tolkien’s or even like C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia from being accepted for publication. The reasoning is that the fiction should present no premise that is different from reality as established in the Bible. A story cannot include elves, for example, because elves are not part of the created order in Scripture. Therefore, a fantasist who is a believer must decide whether to be a “Christian fantasy” writer or a Christian writing fantasy. Either choice, of course, can be valid and God-pleasing. Personally, I choose the second path and work with secular publishers, since I feel it is ridiculous not to avail ourselves of the rich “storytelling language” of folklore and imagination we have been given. The Bible, after all, mentions sea monsters, giants, gaggles of sorcerers, a witch . . . to be sure, God clearly condemns sorcery; but I believe His Word just as clearly suggests the breadth and mystery of His creation. Even if they contain magical beings, the works of Tolkien and Lewis are among the most truly Christian fiction ever written. There is good news in that the Christian publishing field is beginning a shift toward more flexibility without sacrificing a solid grounding in Christ.

As with anything worth doing, good writing is not always easy. There are times of doubt, struggle, frustration, and rejection. But in the end, there is nothing so exciting as watching a story take shape where none existed before. There is no fulfillment like bringing one’s experience and ability to the Lord and crafting a tale that may entertain and edify readers. Tolkien called this process “subcreation”: it is God Who makes the pieces (the world we perceive, the books we read, the people around us); writers rearrange these elements with His help to tell new stories.

What a blessing it is to hear, sometimes from a stranger, that a story we’ve written has brought joy or encouragement! That’s all part of why I write. And that’s why fantasy is my favorite genre, with its infinite possibilities for conveying the wonder that is the life in Christ.

by Frederic S. Durbin       

It probably wasn’t the most brilliant idea I ever came up with to get a tattoo in college (junior year, March 12, 1993, to be exact), but at least it was a Trinity symbol. I had been thinking of getting a tattoo for a while, I just didn’t know what to get done. When I saw the triangle of three fish embroidered on a kneeler pad in Cleveland, OH, I knew that was it. Before it registered in my mind that I was a paying customer and could make the artist change the design (even if he was big and scary-looking), “Ace” was already working on the outline, which is well…permanent*.

I can’t say I regret getting a tattoo in principle. I just don’t like the tattoo on my ankle and haven’t liked it since the day I got it. I still think the image itself is really cool and meaningful, but it’s too big. Way too big. It’s higher on my ankle than I wanted – practically on my calf. And it’s upside-down, which makes it look like a messed-up Superman emblem from a distance.

Yet there it is, for the rest of my life.

We all know that tattoos, once generally considered artifacts from the adventures with less-noble savages and unsavory types you wouldn’t want your precious daughter to date, have now become commonplace. So, what is a Christian to think about things like tattoos?

Most obviously, there’s that whole Bible verse thing. God instructed the ancient Israelites, “You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:28). However, the verses immediately before and that one also condemns eating rare steak, trimming the hair at your temples or on your beard, cutting oneself for the dead, and selling your daughter into prostitution. So should we be observing more laws than we do? Probably. But Christians have been set free from bondage to the Law. As Paul teaches, all things are now permissible for us…but not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23).

For example, it might not be smart for you to get a tattoo somewhere that is not easily covered by everyday clothing later in life. And it’s probably not wise to get something permanently inked on your body that isn’t necessarily permanent – like your boyfriend’s name. And it would be a bad idea to get a tattoo of some pagan religious symbol. And you really shouldn’t disobey your parents and get a tattoo against their will or without their consent.

Tattoos are no longer the exclusive territory of bikers, sailors, “unwashed heathens” or even of Olympic athletes. These days, ordinary people – like me – are getting inked more and more. My tattoo is not a naked woman emblazoned on my chest, or a swastika on my hand, or a teardrop on my cheek. It’s a symbol of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s a reminder of my Baptism.

Do I wish it was in a different place so I could cover it up more easily? Sometimes. I also wish I could cover up my faith sometimes too. It’s there whether I like it or not. Is it too big? Absolutely. So’s God, if you ask me on a bad day. Do I ever think about having it removed? Yep. But that would be like trying to undo my Baptism, so I haven’t.

So while you are free in Christ to adorn the body you’ve been given in this life with things like tattoos, piercings, hair dye, and jewelry…you are also free to keep things simple. These outward things are not what makes you a Christian, nor are they what make you truly beautiful. God doesn’t see us that way. He sees us as the washed, holy, pure, unblemished, unwrinkled, unmarred people He has made us in Christ.

In Baptism, we are marked with the sign of the Cross on our forehead and on our heart to identify us as one redeemed by Christ, the crucified, who bears the marks of our sin in His own body. We remember that Baptismal mark every time we make the sign of the Cross. That cross from our Baptism is invisible – but it’s just as permanent as a tattoo, if not more so. It marks us in this life…and marks us for eternal life in Jesus Christ.

* Yes. It hurts to have a tiny needle jab ink deep into the layers of your skin. It doesn’t feel like getting a bunch of shots at the doctor’s office, it’s more like getting snapped by a tiny rubber band. Really hard. In the same place over and over, like, a zillion times.

by Sandra Ostapowich

by The Rev. Rich Heinz

“What do you want to do when you graduate?” “What career would you like to pursue?” Questions like these are asked of teens and college students all the time. In fact, some start early, and sometimes we even ask children before they enter pre-school! But how do you respond?

Sometimes we attempt to get deep and “spiritual” about it, offering a very pious-sounding answer like, “I just want to do whatever God wills.” However, does that really fit in with what we know of God’s will? Does He have only one vocation that is truly for you? If you chose a different career than the one you once thought God was leading you toward, are you sinning?

Dear friends in Christ, the will of God does not work that way. God’s will can be done whether you end up a nurse or teacher, a homemaker, and mother or a “Geek Squad” manager, a pastor, or mechanic. As long as you are working an honest job for the good of others, and working out of the faith He has given you, God’s will is being done!

How is God’s will done?

God’s will is done when he breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will.
[Small Catechism: Lord’s Prayer; Third Petition]

God’s will is simply that “[He] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth,” (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV). The joy that you and I have is this: no matter what career or vocational choices we make in life, we can be His tools in reflecting His love in Christ to those we serve. In this way, through us, He will draw many to Himself “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

So is it wrong to change vocational choices? Absolutely not! The Lord has given you many talents. Find something you love, do your best as you reflect His love, and you already are doing His will. Will you mess up? Of course – daily! Yet God still wants to use you to touch the lives of others. And so His will is continually to deliver forgiveness to you in His Divine Service, and to renew you to go back out into the world in your vocation, all over again.

For those of you on your third or fourth or even seventh declared major in college, this is especially good news. While your parents and faculty advisors may grow weary of the changes, our loving Master and Teacher know that you can serve Him in any number of ways. You have freedom in Him to choose any of them to live “in faith toward [Him] and in fervent love toward one another.”

“I just want to do whatever God wills,” is an extremely broad statement, for anyone. So remember, dear Christian friends, the choices are many, and all honest vocations can be God-pleasing, abiding in His will. Do not worry about changes in plan, or having one choice that appears to “do His will” more than another. Don’t be fearful and intimidated by choices for your vocation, saying, “I just want to do whatever God wills.” His will is done “when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.” He will do that no matter what you decide or where you go, so you don’t have to be locked into one vocation in order to be doing God’s will. The Lord will use you wherever you end up in life, to be His tool and His child in that place!

by Rev. William M. Cwirla

You knew something was wrong. Mom had been crying a lot. Dad hadn’t been home much, and when he was home, he seemed angry or distant. You were afraid to make a sound, much less bring home a problem from school. Then came the dreaded “family meeting” and the news you didn’t want to hear: “Your Dad and I are getting a divorce.” Now what? Here are some things to keep in mind should the divorce demon invade your house.

BRING ON THE GRIEF GREMLINS – Divorce is a kind of death. Fasten your seatbelt. Welcome to the emotional roller coaster of death. Things are going to get bumpy. You can expect:
Denial (“This can’t be happening to me.”)
Anger (“I hate you guys for divorcing. 
You ruined my life.”)
Bargaining (“I promise to get better grades 
if you guys stay together.”)
Depression (“I hate my life.”)

These are normal responses to loss. You’re grieving. Grieving is adjustment to change and loss. It’s okay. You’ll go through it many times in your life. If you find yourself getting stuck, especially in anger or depression, get some help. Talk to your pastor or a guidance counselor. They might suggest a professional who can help. Don’t be afraid or hesitant to ask for help. It’s never good to be alone in grief.

The light at the end of the grief tunnel is Acceptance. Divorced parents are not the hand you wanted, but this is the one you’ve been dealt. You can’t change this, but you “can do all things through Him who gives you strength” (Philippians 4:12-13). Really, you can.

THE BLAME GAME – Let’s be clear from the outset: This isn’t your fault. Divorce happens, even to “good Christian families.” The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh are constantly chipping away at the foundations of marriage. There are probably things going on between Mom and Dad you know nothing about. But know this: Their divorce is not your fault. Sin has had its way with them and their love for each other, and you’re going along for the ride. It’s not your fault.

YOU NEED A TEAM – Even if you’re a loner, this is not the time to go solo. You need a support team—some good friends, your pastor, the high school counselor, a trusted member in the congregation, an aunt or uncle, a neighbor, a professional counselor, any and all of them. You need someone to scream at, a shoulder to cry on, a person who will listen, advise, reassure, sympathize, and toss you a life preserver when you need one. If you’re old enough to be reading this article, you’re old enough to form a support team. Do it!

THIS IS WAR – The devil is hard at work here. He’s less concerned with destroying marriage than he is with getting everyone isolated and away from Christ. Nothing serves his diabolical purposes better than a messy divorce. People stop forgiving, praying, and going to church. They are so distracted by temporal things they completely lose sight of things eternal, which is exactly what the old evil foe wants.

You need the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-19). This is spiritual warfare, not against flesh and blood, much less Mom or Dad, but against the forces of darkness and evil, against the Lie and the Father of Lies. Recognize that your old Adam is an opportunist. Mom and Dad are pitted against each other, and your old Adam will look for every opportunity to exploit the situation.

Be on guard! Run, don’t walk, to Holy Communion. Don’t enter the battlefield starved! The Body and Blood of Christ are your strength. Use the gift of confession and absolution. There’s going to be plenty of sin, guilt, and shame to go around. Let Jesus take care of that. Take up the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit. And pray. Pray for Mom and Dad, for your brothers and sisters, and for protection and peace.

NO WINNERS – Mom or Dad may try to enlist you against each other. Don’t go there. Unless one of them truly is hurting you in some way, and you have to get away for your own safety, you are going to need both Mom and Dad in your life, so don’t take sides. There are no winners in divorce, only survivors.

THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH – Divorce is, in part, a legal matter that will involve family court, lawyers, judges, and social workers. You’ll be talking with total strangers about your private life. 
It can be embarrassing, unpleasant, and just plain weird. Speak the truth in love and don’t let others put words into your mouth. Be as open and honest as possible. 
This, too, shall pass.

GOD FORGIVES AND MAKES GOOD IN CHRIST – 
I know this is hard to hear and even harder to believe, especially in the beginning. Divorce is not the will of Him who made them male and female in the beginning and declared them to be “one flesh.” This is not how it goes with Jesus and His Bride, the Church. He washes, woos, and forgives her. But Moms and Dads are simultaneously sinners and saints, just as all of us baptized believers are.

Remember that you are baptized into God’s family. Your Father in heaven will never abandon or reject you as His child. Nothing, including divorce, can separate you from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:28-30). He endured the agony of rejection, separation, and loss. He made peace in His death and promises to make all things new in His resurrection. He’s in the middle of this mess—calling to repentance and faith, forgiving, blessing, reconciling, and making good.

Trust Him. He’ll get you through this.

Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California.

Did you see the great Super Bowl commercial about farmers? In this week’s article spotlight, HT is pleased to share a blog post by Pastor Sam Schuldheisz in which he talks about the great example of the biblical teaching of vocation provided by that ad. Pastor Sam Schuldheisz is a Son of Adam who serves as pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Huntington Beach, CA.
The original blog article appears here.

Overall the commercials at his year’s Super Bowl (er, excuse me, Big Game) were about as good as the Niners in the first half. At one point I was actually hoping that a similar power outage would have taken place at my local CBS station so as to avoid any more painfully gross Go Daddy commercials, gack! Of course, there were a few honorable mentions, the Volkswagen bit was clever, although it was no Darth Vader of a few years ago. And the talking E-Trade baby always gets a snicker or two. But the winner in my playbook was the Dodge Ram commercial featuring the late Paul Harvey giving his famous speech, So God Made a Farmer. Here’s the text below in case anyone missed it. You can also check out the video here.

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.” So God made a farmer.

“I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife’s done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon — and mean it.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year.’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain’n from ‘tractor back,’ put in another seventy-two hours.” So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor’s place. So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with a five-mile drive to church.

“Somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life ‘doing what dad does.'” So God made a farmer.

And now for the rest of the story…

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Of course, we know from Genesis 1-3 that God didn’t actually say any of these things. But that’s not the point. Without ever using the word (perhaps even without even knowing it at all), Paul Harvey spoke truthfully about God’s gift of vocation, a gift that began even before the Fall into sin. And a gift which continues after the Fall into sin as well, whether you’re a farmer, a truck driver, a teacher, pastor, law enforcement officer, mother, father, sibling, gardener, and the like. The farmer, you see, is a mask of God. Because of the vocation of a farmer – and countless others – we are able to sit around our dinner table and not only thank God for our daily bread but eat it and enjoy it as a gift. Above all, that’s what vocation is, gift, given to us without any merit or worthiness in us, out of pure Fatherly, divine goodness. Truth be told, God could snap his fingers – zap! poof! wizbang! – and your refrigerator and table would be be graced with more abundance than all the Big Game parties combined, a veritable smorgasbord of First Article gifts. And, it’s worth noting, that He could do the same with miraculous healing as well. We read of countless examples of Christ’s immediate work throughout the Scriptures. But mostly, he works mediately, that is to say, through means. For healing, he uses doctors and nurses. He uses medicine and technology. And the same is true for every facet of earthly life. God uses means. And it’s no less miraculous when He uses ordinary means to hide his work behind for our benefit. In fact, if Luther is right (and I think he is here) it is precisely in the ordinary that God continues to work his hidden holiness for our well being and the good of the neighbor.

And it’s not just the farmer and the myriads of other masks God uses to serve us, it’s also in the seed, the seed of God’s Word. Not only does Christ make farmers. He himself is the archetype farmer, the Sower in human flesh and blood. So it should be no surprise that He also uses the means of His creation to bless, preserve and save us. He plants His Word in the mouth of sinners – and it is no less miraculous than when he says it himself. Pastors are mouthpieces, hands, heralds, and helpers. He waters that planted Word by water, Word and Spirit. And our faith in Christ grows by the same breath of life that hovered over the waters of creation and filled Adam’s lungs with life. That’s the Holy Spirit’s vocation, to show you Jesus. You are fed with the finest of foods and the richest of wines, Christ’s very body and blood. And all of this through means. That’s good news. Because the best part about it all is, it’s free – not an over-paid, sensationalistic advertisement in sight. Your vocation is a gift because Christ is crucified and risen for you. And you are a living sacrifice for your neighbor.

So God made vocation…on the 6th day and every day since then. And he made it for you. Behold, it is very good.

by Rev. Sam Schuldheisz

Normally religion and politics are taboo topics in our conversations. There are those who go further and believe those areas should never overlap in our daily living. Rev. Cwirla demonstrates how to manage and balance these two areas through the filter of Luther’s two-kingdom theology. For more great articles on Church and State check out the FREE winter issue of Higher Things Magazine.

Do religion and politics mix? Or are they like oil and water—two things that will always be separate no matter how hard you shake them up? There’s no doubt that religion and politics are two of the most sensitive topics we can talk about. Bring up either one in a crowded room, and there is sure to be an argument. Bring up both together, and there will likely 
be a brawl!

The reason for this is that these are two of the most important topics in our lives—much more important than sports and even the weather. Religion has to do with what we believe about God, life, morals, and eternity. The big picture stuff. Politics is the art of government, order, society, and community.

Religion deals primarily with eternal things, things “not of this world,” or at least things hidden “in, with, and under” the things of this world. Politics deals with temporal matters: roads, taxes, welfare, marriage, safety, protection. So on the surface, at least, they don’t seem to have anything to do with each other. But let’s delve into this a bit more deeply.

The church is in the world. It may not be “of the world” but it is definitely in this world. We occupy the land, use electricity, water, and gas, and flush our toilets. And when the church is on fire, we call the fire department. We are very much in this world, and this world is a political world. Christians are both religious and political people. We believe, teach and confess things about God from the Scriptures. And we participate in the world of government and politics, believing that this, too, is a gift from God.

Our Lutheran Confessions teach that the political realm is a good gift 
of God’s fatherly goodness and mercy (Romans 13:1ff). “It is taught among us that all government in the world and all established rule and laws were instituted and ordained by God for the sake of good order, and that Christians may without sin occupy civil offices or serve as princes and judges, render decisions and pass sentence according to imperial and other existing laws, punish evildoers with the sword, engage in just wars, serve as soldiers, buy and sell, take required oaths, possess property, be married, etc.” (Augsburg Confession XVI).

There are some who would like to sweep the public square clean of all religion and create a kind of “naked, public square” where no religious ideas are expressed. Of course, this would favor the religious views of atheists, agnostics, and skeptics who believe that religion has no place in a rational society.

As Christians, and especially as Lutherans, we think that what we believe shapes our view of the world and of society and therefore it can’t be left out of our public life. We would rather have an open public square where everyone is free to speak one’s mind based on one’s beliefs even if we disagree (yes, even atheists!) than have a “naked public square” stripped bare of all religion. We believe this makes for a much better political discussion and a better representation of all the various people who live in our country.

I’ve been talking here about the individual believer as a citizen, not the institutions of “church” and “state.” Church and state are two of the three “estates” or “orders” of the temporal kingdom, i.e. this life. The third order is at home. (See the catechism article about the Table of Duties on page 28.) Church and state are distinct orders established by God for two distinct purposes. The church’s work is to proclaim the kingdom of Christ through Word and sacrament. The state’s work is to restrain evil, reward good, and maintain order through the sword—that is, the use of coercive power.

The church’s job is not to govern or redeem society; the state’s job is not to preach the Gospel. That’s why it doesn’t matter if the president or other heads of state are Christians. It’s also why Christians should not try to establish a “Christian government” or a “Christian nation.” The rule of law is not uniquely Christian but is shared by every organized society. We would identify this with the work of the law hardwired in our hearts (Romans 2:14-15), which is known even without any written law.

The church should not tell people how to vote. Nor should the state tell people how to pray or worship. Each needs to be busy with its own vocation. The church needs to proclaim the kingdom of Christ, baptize, preach, teach, administer the Body and Blood, forgive and retain sin. The state needs to protect its citizens and enforce the rule of law. But the individual Christian, who lives in the church, state, and home, is always mixing religion and politics. Martin Luther was well known for bending the ear of his elector regarding taxation, war, social welfare, the church, marriage, and education. Luther’s faith and knowledge of the Word shaped his political views and thinking.

The mix of politics and religion is really a one-way mixture, however. Our faith shapes our political thinking, but our politics should never influence our faith. Faith relies solely on the Word of God, while politics involves the use of reason. Reason is always a minister to the Word, never its master.

It’s very important to keep in mind one last thing: Politics is temporal; faith in Christ is eternal. The kingdoms of this world, including our own, will all pass away and are destined for destruction. But the kingdom of Christ will never pass away. As a baptized believer in Christ, that is your citizenship and your destiny, even as you live, move, and have your being in this political world.

by Rev. William M. Cwirla