Summary
The Gift, Personalized
The gift of salvation was planned before creation, prepared through centuries of prophecy and promise to Israel, and purchased not with silver or gold but with the precious blood and innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Yet a gift that has been planned, prepared, and purchased still requires one more thing: a name tag. The Giver must mark it for the recipient. In the same way, God has personalized the gift of redemption for each of His own.
The word "personalized" carries two senses worth holding together. First, it means designing something to meet a specific individual need. Paul writes in Titus 3:3 that "we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another." Two words there carry enormous weight: were once. That is no longer your identity. Whether you came to faith as an adult with a clear before-and-after, or were raised in the faith from infancy, the verdict is the same — you were once in desperate need, and the gift of redemption was designed precisely to meet that need.
Second, "personalized" means making the gift personal — applying it to a particular person by name. This is what God does in Holy Baptism. Titus 3:4–7 declares: "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit." When the pastor pours water on the head of John, or Kathy, or Sue, and speaks the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, God Himself is saying: You are mine. The verdict — not guilty — is placed upon that particular forehead. The gift bears your name.
This is where the gospel parts ways with every religion of strings-attached. Many will agree that salvation is a gift, but then attach conditions: say a special prayer, perform sufficient works, make a decisive choice, and only then may you open it. Imagine receiving a wrapped present whose card reads, "Picked it out just for you — by the way, you owe me fifty dollars." The joy drains out. When Jesus said from the cross, "It is finished" John 19:30, He did not mean, "My part is finished; the rest is up to you." Every aspect of salvation depends on God's action, not ours. Good works are neither prepayment nor repayment for the gift.
Baptism unites you to Christ Himself. As Paul writes in Romans 6:3–11, all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death, buried with Him, and raised with Him to walk in newness of life. Linked to His death and resurrection, you stand before the Father blameless, washed white as snow through the water of rebirth and renewal — and all of this is done by God, not by you.
And then God gives more on top of the gift. Knowing how prone we are to suspect a catch, He provides faith itself, and surrounds us with means of receiving the promise again and again: the proclaimed Word, the Absolution spoken after our confession, the body and blood of Christ given and shed for us. Each of these is the same gift, re-presented and re-personalized, so that day after day you may be more assured than the last that this redemption is for you. To such a Giver there is nothing left to say but: thank You, Jesus, and amen.
Video citations
- "Personalized" December 30, 2018 — So lately, we have been talking about this gift that was given to us. Obviously, there's no huge surprise as to what this gift is. If you recall a couple of weeks ago, we heard about how this gift…