We are all exhausted. Demands never stop and failures pile up. Life gets hard. No wonder we are weary and need relief. We are tired because we think our identity and worth rests on our achievements, as if our works make us who we are or give us our worth. Broken people cannot fix brokenness. We need to be made whole, or justified, but we can’t muster it ourselves. 

How amazing, then, that our holy God, who set the standard for justice higher than we could ever reach, reaches down to us and proclaims over messy sinners who can’t ever get their own act together, “Justified! Forgiven!” In Christ’s death and resurrection is eternal justice and rest. Works don’t give us our identity or worth — they are what we do. Who we are is a baptized, redeemed, child of God. Sunday is a day of rest, not only from our daily work but also because we do not have to earn the Lord’s forgiveness. It is a gift, freely given.

Rev. Dr. Brian Mosemann
Lutheran Women in Mission
South Dakota District Senior Pastoral Counselor