Welcome to all present today, especially our visitors.  Recently I was asked if Epiphany was among the Lutherans uniting with the Episcopalians and I said no.  We've not yet gone down the slippery slope of unionism and fallen into the dry gulch of shallow doctrine.  In an age of dumbed-down religion, the LCMS is trying to stand firm on biblical truth.

          But we have our own set of problems.  Today the LCMS is rampant with Lutheran pharisees, men and women who set doctrinal purity above God's love.  Lutheran pharisees are so worried about minute details that they miss the main point.  Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 something that speaks to this:  "Woe to you Pharisees, You give a tenth of your spices [to God], but you neglect the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness.  You should practice the latter, without neglecting the former."  I love the Lutheran church, but too often we major in minors.

          Last Sunday we started a series about Family Values, about what God values.  His Family Values are vastly different from those in the world.  God's values are a picture of His own heart.  His values bring life, not empty promises.

          Most of all, God values people.  He sent His Son Jesus to die for people like you and me.  He sent His only son to pay the penalty of sin because people are precious to Him.  Isaiah 43:4 says, "Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will redeem you."  People are what God values most of all.

          Why else would He have sacrificed His only Son for people?  The Bible says all sin and come short of the glory of God.  We're born in sin and that sin separates us.  It separates people from people and people from nature.  But the worst separation is from God.  Sin leaves us disconnected from God.  It brings chaos to life.

          Without being reconnected to God, we'll die in the chaos of our sins.  God had to bring people back together with Himself.  Christ came to this sinful earth, to be born of a woman, to suffer under Pontius Pilate, to be crucified, to die and to be buried, and to rise up again from the grave.  His death and resurrection reconnects us to God.

          And because of Him, every man, woman or child who trusts Him -- thru faith and commitment -- is reconnected with God.  In Jesus the chasm is bridged, the separated are re-united and the dead are alive.  No matter what else you hear today, remember this:  In Christ, you're reconnected to God.  Order is brought to the chaos once again.

          One Saturday evening on Prairie Home Companion, they had their annual Joke Show.  For an hour they told story after humorous story.  In one, three men, a doctor, an engineer and a supreme court justice, were discussing who had the oldest profession.  The doctor said, "God made Eve from Adam's rib, so surgeons are the oldest profession."  The engineer said, "In the beginning there was nothing but chaos, so God used engineering skills to bring order from chaos."  But the Supreme court justice said, "Who do you think made all that chaos?"

          In Jesus Christ, order comes from chaos.  Today's message is about Commitment, from the parable about the workers in the vineyard.  Jesus' parables always tell us something about God.  This parable is about who gets into the Kingdom of God.  Every parable Jesus told has a central point.  The central point here is that people enter the kingdom by the grace and mercy of the King, not by the work of the subjects.  It is God's grace to accept all people who believe in His Son, no matter when they start believing.  Whether lifelong Lutheran or deathbed convert, God gives heaven to both.

          Another point of this parable is that we should stick to our commitments.  The morning workers had agreed to a salary.  Rather than complain, they should have been grateful to get paid.  I guess it's our nature to want to argue fairness with God.

          Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will make it happen."  We live in a world where it's easy to make commitments, but not easy to keep them.  People get married without being ready and then want to break their commitment.  They spend $50,000 on a wedding, but won't spend $200 on pre-marital counseling to see if they're right for each other.  Some women feel too many men today are unwilling to make a commitment.  Maybe they don't know what it is.

          Commitment means you agree and then stick with it.  A recent newspaper article said credit card default is on the rise.  People aren't keeping that commitment.   When you charge something, you commit to paying for it.  It's easy to charge it but some day the bill will come.  God values commitment.  He wants us to be faithful to our commitments.  He wants us faithful to each other.  He wants us faithful to Him.  God committed Himself to us in Jesus so that we can commit ourselves to Him.

          That's not easy.  Keeping commitments can be difficult.  You marry someone and they change.  Or you change and think that's reason enough.  You intend to keep that commitment but then someone more attractive walks by.  But we can't stop because the grass looks greener.  Last week I saw a quote that made me think.  "If it seems as a Christian like you're always going uphill, you're probably going the right way."  How true!  And yet how hard to accept, especially if the uphill road seems endless.  Then it might be easier to quit.

          A few years back I emailed a relative inviting him to subscribe to a weekly report from the LCMS Office of Government Affairs.  This weekly report is written by a Lutheran pastor who tells the inside story of Washington politics.  I included the most recent report that had a story about the Christian Coalition and the abortion and the homosexual lobbies.  In his reply he just blasted me!  He said I was a homophobic and should never again write him about the Christian Coalition.  And he didn't want me to quote him any Bible passages, either.  He lamented at why can't we just leave gay people alone and let women make their own choices?  It was like reading something written by Planned Parenthood.

          And this from a fine Christian man who knows better.  I know he knows better - He was raised in the same church and family as I!  But, humanly speaking, it's always easier to turn your back on sin than to stand against it when the battle seems all uphill.  I firmly believe there are thousands of Christians out there - young and old - who do know better.  But they don't want to risk public scorn by defending God's Word.  That requires commitment, and it's easier to turn their heads and look the other way.

          A famous patriot said, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."  So also the price of commitment is eternal defense.  The price of commitment is certainly less than the price of living without restraint or responsibility.  I saw a bumper sticker:  "Live and Let Live."  It should be, "Live and Help Live."  Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you."  He wants our commitment to Him and also to the truth.

          A few years ago I paid a visit to John, a former member who'd been hospitalized six months with a rare disease.  Despite an illness that had ravished his body, he had a pleasant attitude and a great faith in God.  About a month after he was admitted, a chaplain came to see him.  The chaplain wanted to know why, in the face of his illness, he wasn't angry or upset at God.  John said that he'd placed his life in God's hands, so why get upset at Him?  The chaplain left and a few days later in came a psychiatrist who told him he was in denial.  John said, "What am I denying?  I know I'm sick, but God will take care of it."  That psychiatrist came back twice more.  "Is he still coming back?" I asked.  "No," said John, "I guess He gave up on me."

          It is hard for some folks to believe a Christian can commit his life to the Lord and trust in Him for everything without getting angry at God.  John eventually came home from the hospital, and within a week his wife of 30 years died of a heart attack.  But today John is doing quite well, living alone, a great testimony to his faith in God.  Life isn't always fair.  We can never really know the mind of God.

          Isaiah 55 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are Your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Praise God that His ways and His thoughts include you and me!  He has committed Himself to us in Jesus Christ.  He is faithful.  He never goes back on His word.  And He accepts all who come to Him in faith.

          I wish I could understand God all the time, but I can't.  I'm just content to know He loves me.  And He loves you.  We are so precious to Him.  The bloody cross proves that.  The open grave is His commitment to us.  Next week's message will be on God's values of Humility and Service.  Thanks be to God He's committed to us.

          Let's pray:  Dear Father, You have committed Your love to us.  Now help us to commit our lives to You.  Give us courage to trust You in the face of trouble.  Give spouses commitment to each other.  When struggles come, give us joy in Your love.  Thank you for Jesus.  Help us have faith in Him, no matter what.  Amen!

Copyright © 1999 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.