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March 14, 2004
3rd Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:1-9
Pastor Ben Berger

God is Waiting for You

When an unbeliever dies, whose fault is it? Is it a) God's fault, b) the unbeliever's fault, or c) the fault of believers who had or could have had contact with the unbeliever? The way you answer that question reveals your beliefs about God, the way you live your life, and your responsibility toward unbelievers. To find the answers to that question you only need to know one thing: God loves you. God wants you to know his love, to live in his love and to share his love. In love God is patient with you, with us. As we dig into God's word, I want you to remember one thing. God is waiting for you. 1) He does not want you to perish. 2) He wants you to repent.

Whose fault is the death of an unbeliever? I'll tell you right now; it's not God's fault. This past Christmas break three boys died in a car accident. They were out driving, took a curve too fast and ran into the Appleton Papers building just south of Wisconsin Avenue. Three teenage boys died. Some of our teens knew those boys. We're not sure that they went to heaven. Whose fault is it? I'm sure any number of people asked why. Why did these boys have to die at such a young age? They had their whole lives ahead of them. They had hopes and dreams. They left behind so many people. Children should never die before their parents. No doubt, some people blamed God. God is in charge; he's in control. Why did he let this happen? It's not fair! These boys didn't deserve to die.

Whoa! Wait a minute. These boys didn't deserve to die? Wrong! That's not what God said. He is very clear about this matter. God told Adam and Eve point blank that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, if they disobeyed him, they would die. God told Ezekiel, "the soul who sins is the one who will die," (18:4). God clearly spoke through Paul, "The wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23). Those boys sinned; they deserved to die. We have all sinned; we all deserve to die. Death is not God's fault; death is the sinner's fault.

That's what the crowd around Jesus thought. Sinners die for their sin. Death is the sinner's fault. However, understand what they meant. They weren't talking about "regular" sinners. If all sinners died, we would all be dead right now. They were talking about Sinners. The people came and reported a tragic incident to Jesus. Apparently some Galileans were offering sacrifices in the temple. For an unknown reason the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, ordered their death. His soldiers entered the temple area and killed the Galileans, mixing their blood with the blood of the animals they were sacrificing. Jesus also recalled another tragic death. A watchtower in Siloam fell over and killed eighteen people.

In both cases the people assumed that these people died for their sins. This was a common cause and effect opinion. Tragic things only happened to Sinners. Yes, everyone sins, but a "regular" sinner can still live a long life. Big Sinners die early. They must have pushed the limit too far.

"No!" said Jesus. The Galileans didn't die because they were worse sinners than all of the other Galileans. The eighteen in Siloam didn't die because they were more guilty than anyone else living in Jerusalem. The three boys in the car accident didn't die because they sinned more than we do. No! They all died because of sin. When we die, we will all die because of sin. And, we all deserve to die. It is fair. The wages of sin is death. All sin; therefore all die. It doesn't matter how old we are. Even babies and infants deserve to die. Yet, even though we die, God does not want us to perish. Do you see the difference? Our bodies will give up life. We will be buried and begin to decay in the grave. Not so our souls. God does not want us to perish. And so, God gives us the opportunity to repent and live.

Twice God warned the people, "unless you repent, you too will all perish." Repentance includes two things. First, repentance means that I admit my sin. I am sorry for my sin. I want forgiveness. Second, repentance means that I sincerely try to change my life and turn from sin. When we repent, God forgives us. God loves us and forgives our sins. With forgiveness comes life. Jesus said, "He who believes in me will live, even though he dies," (John 11:25). God is waiting for you. He's not waiting for you to die. He doesn't want you to perish; he's waiting for you to repent.

To make his point even clearer Jesus tells a story or a parable. Read the parable. There are five basic points in Jesus' parable. 1) A man owns a fig tree. 2) The fig tree does not bear fruit. 3) The man tells his gardener to cut the fig tree down. 4) The gardener asks for more time to work with the fig tree. 5) If the fig tree bears fruit, it will live; if not, it will die. Let's try to understand this parable.

God the Father is the owner. We are the fig trees. The Father comes to look for fruit in his children. What does he see? He sees sin. Really, what does God see when he looks at your life? I know what he sees when he looks at me - nothing good. He sees anger and rage, self-pity, laziness, selfishness. He sees a sinner who struggles to listen to his word regularly, to live peacefully with others, to be content. He sees a person who always feels wronged. What does God see in you, in me, in all of us? Sinners. And what should God do about it? He should cut us down. He should send us to hell to perish forever. When should he do it? Right now, but he doesn't. We are still here - alive. God is waiting for us. He does not want us to perish; he wants us to repent.

Jesus, the gardener, steps in to intercede for us. Jesus too loves us. He does not want us to perish, but to repent. He speaks to the Father on our behalf. Jesus knows just what to say to the Father; he knows his Father well. Jesus knows that his Father wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He knows that his Father is patient and long-suffering. If he weren't he would have destroyed this world long ago. The Bible is filled with many examples of God's patience. Most of the Old Testament shows God's patience with the people of Israel. The Gospels show God's patience to keep his promise of a Savior. Your life also is proof of God's patience. Jesus also knows his Father's justice. God has already punished Jesus for the sin of the world. Justice demands that God cannot punish sin twice. Therefore, God cannot punish all who believe in Jesus because Jesus paid the price for sin when he died on the cross. Jesus speaks to his Father for us on the basis of God's own qualities.

Jesus also asks his Father for more time to nurture us. He nurtures us with his Word. He desperately hopes that we will not reject his word. He has given us his word so that we too can learn to know his Father. Jesus' word means to tell us who his Father is and what he has done for us. His word tells us that God loves us. It tells us that God is patient, that he is waiting for us. God's word tells us that God loves us so much, he wants to spend eternity with us. He wants to provide for us. He wants us to live forever in his love. God's word also shows us his love. It shows us how far God was willing to go to save our souls. Every day the Father puts up with rebellious sinners who do not appreciate his love. Still, he sent his son. Jesus didn't just put up with those who hate him; he suffered and died for them. He suffered more than we can ever imagine and died a terrible death, all because he loves us. Then, he sent his Spirit to help us understand God's love for us.

Jesus sends his Spirit to work through his word to create faith in our hearts. The Spirit works and works and works to turn our rocky soiled heart into a heart ready to believe God's love. The Spirit's job is tough. We know that we deserve to die. We know that there is no good reason for God to love us. The Spirit gives us faith to believe it. And, both the Father and the Son wait for the Spirit to produce fruit in us.

What fruit is the Father hoping to find? First, he wants to see repentance. God is waiting for us to repent. He simply wants us to acknowledge our sin; he wants us to confess our need for forgiveness and a Savior. Then he will give it to us. Through his word and sacrament God offers, gives and seals to us forgiveness of sins, new life and eternal salvation. He has even given us the authority to pronounce his love and forgiveness to each other. God wants us to know his love.

Second, God wants us to live in his love. Repentance includes turning away from our sin and living a God-pleasing life. It means that we spend time with God in his word. We give the Spirit as much opportunity as possible to work on our hearts. We ask God what he wants us to do and we try to do it - without question. We live in God's love.

Finally, God wants us to share his love. Remember our question? When unbelievers die, it is to a point the fault, or at least the responsibility, of believers. God wants us to share his love with everyone, especially with those who don't yet know him. This is urgent. We need to share God's love right now! We don't know when others will die. We certainly don't want them to die without God's love. God doesn't want them to die either; he doesn't want them to perish. He wants them to repent and live. And so, God is waiting.

God is waiting for us. He is waiting for us to take advantage of his love. He is waiting for us to enjoy every minute of our lives by living in his love. He is waiting for us to share is love with others. God is waiting for us to finally realize one thing: He loves us.