God’s Treasure
Deuteronomy 7:6-9
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12)
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament reading Deuteronomy 7. People can be very unlovable. It is true. We have all heard of the expression unconditional love. It is a concept that we all agree is good. It is right for us to love and care for people no matter what. The problem with unconditional love is that it is impossible for us to do it. Why? Because people can be so unlovable. We don’t have as much trouble loving the lovable. It makes sense to love those who love us back. It makes sense to love those who are loyal and kind to us. It makes sense to love those who remember us and make us feel good. What is much more difficult to do is love those who lack lovable qualities. It is difficult to love the unlovable. At some point our human love breaks down and proves to have its limits.
We live in a mean-spirited culture that is lacking in love right now. People are angry and hateful. All you need to do is go on social media platforms or watch the news and you will find all sorts of arguments that people are getting into. Insulting people and demonizing people happens on a regular basis. Real conversations that are constructive and helpful don’t happen as much as they should. Talking with relatives and friends can be hard as well. There is sharp divide in our country right now about several different issues even among the people that we know. People are quick to point out what is wrong with others but fail to see their own sins. When we look around our culture today it is not hard to see people who are unlovable.
We run into this problem of people being unlovable in our own families. We want to love the people that are close to us, but they are also the ones who can hurt us the most. We want to love our family members, but they are the people who can get us the most upset. When our spouse, siblings, parents, or children sin against us it can do a lot of damage. When they continually sin against us it becomes hard to love them with our whole heart. The same can be said about members of our congregation. Most of us have high expectations of the people who belong to the church. So when someone in the church makes a hurtful comment to us it cuts deep. When Christians fail to act as Christians it upsets us.
People around us are so unlovable. It is true. But if we are honest with ourselves, we also must admit that we are quite capable of joining the ranks of the unlovable. It is easy for us to be critical of the people around us while at the same time failing to see our own sins. There are times when we are the ones who are sinning against our neighbor. There are times when we are the ones who hurt the people around us. There are times when we only think about ourselves and fail to take into consideration the needs of others. We are the ones who sin against our family. When we have a bad day what do we do? We take out our frustrations on our spouse, siblings, parents, and children. Those people we claim to love. We notice when people in the church fail to act as Christians but do we pay attention to the times when we fail to act as Christians? Sometimes it is our words and actions that are harming one of our brothers or sisters in Christ.
People can be very unlovable. It is true. What is especially upsetting to us is when we join the ranks of the unlovable. What every person needs is unconditional love. It is a concept that we all know is good. The problem is that no person can actually do it. The only source for that kind of love is God. We see that in our readings for today. In our Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy the Lord said these words to the children of Israel. “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but is because the Lord loves you”. Israel was set apart by God from all the nations of the earth. But notice in our reading it is made clear that the Israelites were nothing special. They were not the biggest. They were not the best. The reason God called them to be His people was out of love. He took a group of people who were enslaved by the Egyptians and made them His treasured possession.
It is the same with us. Our Lord has chosen us to be His people. He did not choose us because we are the biggest or the best. He did not choose us because we are lovable. As a matter of fact, we are unlovable. The reason He called us to be His people was out of His love. He took us, a group of people who were enslaved by sin, and made us His treasured possession. He took you and made you His treasured possession. That is what Paul tells us in our epistle reading for today. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified”. The Lord chose us to be His people, and He made us His treasured possession through His Son, Jesus Christ.
God’s only consideration was for us. God had nothing to gain by choosing insignificant Israel to be His people and He had nothing to gain for Himself by saving us from sin and death. Yet out of His love, at the cost of His Son on the cross, he did indeed save us. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. In other words we have been made God’s treasured possession. We have been given what we need, unconditional love.
Through God’s grace we have been given salvation and we have been transformed. As a treasured possession of God we have been conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Think about that for a moment. As a treasured possession of God we have been conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Because God first loved us, we are now able to love God. Our love is far from perfect, but through God’s perfect love we are moved to live a life of love. We are able to love God because He is gracious to us. His love is unconditional. He sacrificed His only begotten Son in order to free us from sin. We have the assurance of His forgiveness and so we repent of our sins and receive God’s grace.
Because of God’s love through Christ Jesus we are also able to love each other. Our love is not perfect; it will be perfected when Jesus visibly returns. But we are indeed moved to love our family, the members of our congregation, and those around us. When we see all that is wrong with the world, we are now moved to call upon the Name of the Lord and pray for all people including our enemies. We are moved by the Holy Spirit to pray that God would bring people to repentance and faith. We can rejoice in our own salvation and know that God is reaching out to others to save them also. We can now speak the truth in love and know that the Lord works all things for the good. Through the love of God, we are moved to apologize to each other when we sin, pray for each other, and help each other in times of need. We forgive those who sin against us just as Christ Jesus forgives us. We are moved to love our family and care for them. We can look at our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and know that they are also a treasured possession of God.
People can be very unlovable. It is true. What is also true is that we are also unlovable. But praise be to God that His love is unconditional. Praise be to God that He has chosen us to be his people. Praise be to God that He has saved us through Christ Jesus our Lord. Praise be to God that He has made us his treasured possession. Amen.