by Pastor Douglas Brauner
Encouragement When We Need It Most
“Brothers and sisters, I want you to recall the good news which I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and through which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
The Chalk Kids helped me through COVID-19. When adults fought about vaccines, masks, and social distancing, the Chalk Kids did their best to encourage people with their art.
The church in Corinth did not fight a physical virus, but the spiritual disease of division. It was time for Paul to remind the believers of the good news that he had preached to them, which they received and in which they stood.
He reminds them that Jesus died for their sins.
He reminds them that Jesus was buried.
He reminds them that Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to many people before ascending to the right hand of the Father.
But he doesn’t stop there. This good news of what Jesus did for them had the effect of daily saving them, of being present with them when life was tough, when division threatened the community.
When we experience difficulties, it is time to recall what is most important. It is time to remember Jesus and his work for us that we might daily experience salvation, or as Paul says elsewhere, “to work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12)
As we stroll life’s sidewalks, it is not the Chalk Kids that encourage us but the Word of God. Through his Word, God reminds us of our identity, that we are the God’s children, his flock, his household. We hear the Word reminding us that God’s ways, his sidewalks, are higher than ours. We hear the Word challenging us to let the renewing of our minds work transformation.
There will always be crises in our lives in which we need encouragement. Though the Chalk Kids have grown up and no longer grace our sidewalks with their encouraging words, we will always have the good news of Jesus even to our last breath.
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
