Someone said that God really doesn’t appreciate being distrusted. I thought it was a great line except for the fact that God said it better – “You shall have no other Gods before my face”. Luther explains it in his usual inimitable style as we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. The Christmas drama is predicted in the middle of a political crisis in which most of God’s people are trusting anyone and everyone more than the God who chose them and whose mercy they claimed “endures forever”. The Christmas songs reverberate from Mary to Elizabeth to Zechariah and Simeon with a trust in God’s mercy and thanks for his “remembering his people”.
Luther’s trust in God must have rubbed off on his wife or vice versa. He was 62 when he died. She was 53. Between his death and hers were seven years of trial and tribulation. During that time she was said to witness to God’s mercy often and told anyone who would listen that her plan was to “cling to Christ like a burr on a dress”. If you have ever been around horses you know what that means. When you get a burr off of a horse or a piece of clothing you actually spread the seeds of the burr all over. When the devil and the world try to get us away from Christ it should be excellent opportunities for spreading the seed of the word everywhere and witnessing to his mercy.
