Talking Points with Pastor Lucas: Go First! Soul Care

Every year Advent prepares us to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This sacred church season cries out, “The King is coming!” It reminds us that Jesus came first by way of the womb and manger.

You might say Advent is a reminder that Jesus goes first - of how He went first from heaven to earth. That He might save us, Jesus goes first in a very profound way. He humbled Himself and became human, walked around in our flesh, and bore our sin. The Apostle Paul put it this way: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law” (Gal. 4:4-5). Thus, Advent is a celebratory and preparatory time of waiting and watching. It communicates the message of hope we have through Christ.

The color associated with this season is blue. It’s the color of the sky and helps convey this powerful message. Namely, our faith and “life together” rests on the hope that Jesus Christ, who came into history assuming our flesh, will also return on the last day of time from that same blue sky He ascended long ago (see logo below and last month’s Talking Points).

This is the hope at the heart of the Go First! initiative. For us poor, sin-ridden souls—we who are guilt afflicted and shame-ridden—Jesus goes first. He so intensely loves every soul that has walked the face of this planet that He shed His blood on the cross of Calvary. The color of His redeeming blood captures the second block of the Go First! logo.

As His blood stained the cross red, the redemption He won for you baptismally stains you with His everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. That is the emphasis of this second block in the Go First! logo. It highlights the soul care that the church gives to others is rooted in how our Lord Jesus Christ goes first to care for our souls.

Lutherans have a tremendous confession of faith that catechizes and strengthens believers to bear up under the pressures and temptations that come from the devil, the world, and our sinful nature. Likewise, we confess that day by day we need the care of Christ for the wounds and heartaches we suffer in this fallen world. We sin and we are sinned against. Week after week, we must deal with the guilt and the shame, along with the hurt and the heartache, that comes from living in a broken world.

But the good news is Jesus cares for our hurting and afflicted souls here and now. Through His Word and Sacrament, we hear of and receive the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn. 1:7); it removes our guilt and puts away our shame. It gives us our identity. It fills us with hope, and it leads us forward with courage and confidence.  

There are so many hurting and lost souls who need the compassion and healing of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus went first for you, you are free to go first to care for the hurting and souls of this world—those who are “lost” as well as those already “found.” All souls are precious to our Lord. You are free to paint a picture blue with the hope of Christ and red with the redemption of His blood. You are free to Go First! and declare the King is coming!