Lutheran Helps for WEEK ONE

Day 1: It All Starts with God
The first chapter centers on the idea that we cannot arrive at our life’s purpose by focusing on ourselves. We must begin with God. It is only in God that we discover our origin, identity, meaning, purpose, significance, and destiny. We are given our God-intended identity in Baptism when God declares, “You are my child, forever!”

Day 2: You Are Not an Accident
God created us to serve God’s purposes. But God also created us with free will, the freedom to make choices. God, as Parent, encourages us and wants us to choose wisely, but will not force us to choose God’s way. An important point: As Lutherans we believe that God is like the best possible parent. No loving parent would intentionally inflict or harm his/her child. However, for some reason, God does allow suffering to impact our lives. Even Jesus – God in human form – was not immune to suffering. What the Bible teaches is that God suffers with us, and that God will see us through whatever storms we face. We can trust that God is with us.

Day 3: What Drives Your Life?
God’s forgiveness is all about being set free from what holds us in bondage. Sin is what separates us from God. The death and resurrection of Jesus has overcome all that separates us from God and holds us captive. Through a Lutheran lens, it is not so much about “preparing for eternity,” as helping to bring the Kingdom of God’s grace into this world. Like Jesus, as we live out God’s purposes here and now, the Kingdom of God becomes real for others. Jesus invites us to begin living into eternity, starting now.

The goal of life is to grow into the likeness of Christ. When Lutherans think about standing before God and accounting for our lives, we picture Jesus standing with us before the Father, interceding on our behalf, claiming us as his sisters and brothers for whom he lived and died. At the same time, we are held accountable for our stewardship of life. How have we used our God-given gifts and passion to serve God’s purposes? How did our faith lead us into loving service? We can please God with our choices.

Day 4: Made to Last Forever
Lutherans emphasize that we are created to serve God here-and-now. We are Kingdom Builders! We continue the work of Jesus. We live in the light of God’s love for us in Jesus, and we serve out of gratitude and love. When we realize the love God has for us in Jesus, we begin to live differently. It might be helpful to substitute “God’s love” for the phrase “light of eternity.”

Day 5: Seeing Life from God’s View
What’s our worldview? Is the world benevolent or capricious? Is our goal serving or acquiring? Do people look out for you, or are we to take advantage of others? Is it about giving or accumulating? Life as a “test” is a biblical metaphor. Another way to say this is “life often challenges our faith in God, and our trust in God’s goodness.” These times of challenge are opportunities for growth in our faith, if we choose to invite God into them. We always have to choose whose “will” will be done and how we will view what happens to us. Do we invite God into our struggles, and ask God to use them to shape us for God’s purposes? Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Doubt and questioning, and even anger, are integral components of faith. Total honesty with God, and offering these feelings, questions and experiences to God, are how God uses life’s hardships and trials to continue our growth as maturing disciples of Jesus.

Life on earth is a trust. This is a very positive Lutheran perspective. On page 45 Warren moves into the theme of judgment. The Bible makes it clear that we will be held accountable. But Lutherans tend to see judgment through the lens of accountability, not fear. The Lutheran perspective is that God’s grace leads us to trust in God’s love (faith), which leads us to respond in acts of loving service. Grace -> Faith -> Response. A life without a loving response toward God is a life without faith, and therefore, void of hope and meaning.

When we think about the maturation process, what Warren calls “tests” we see as “opportunities for growth.” We are growing into the likeness of Christ, which is a process. The situations we encounter in life are viewed not so much as “tests,” but as learning and growing experiences.

Day 6: Life Is A Temporary Assignment
This chapter deals with the transitory nature of life. Our attachments divert us from God and our purpose to serve him and his Kingdom. Page 48 – It might be helpful to translate “Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven,” by “The most important thing in life is our relationship with God in Christ and serving him.” As Lutherans, we remember that in Baptism God gives us our identity – children of God. In Baptism, God gives us purpose – to love him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. Page 50 – First paragraph – Another perspective is that we feel discontent when we go our own way and buy into the cultural gods of power, prestige, and materialism.

Day 7: The Reason for Everything
What is God’s glory? Go back to Genesis. God made everything and it was good. God intends for everything to live in relationship with God and each other and serve God’s purposes. It is a symbiotic relationship, everything created for a purpose and working together to serve that purpose.

Sin is anything and everything that leads us away from God and serving God’s purposes; anything that breaks our relationship with God and/or with each other. God is to be worshipped because of who God is, not because of what God can do for us. God is worthy of our praise, thanksgiving and service. Liturgy means “the work of the people.” For us, worship is not a spectator event, but an encounter with the living God. We gather to worship to renew our relationship and enjoy God’s presence. Worship is not about what we “get out of it,” but “what we bring to it.” Worship is how we live our lives each day in serving the God whom we love.