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Brent Wiescamp, 7/5/15

A sermon preached at

Heart of the Rockies Christian Church

Fort Collins, CO

By Brent Wiescamp

7/5/15

Loving God, I ask that you bless this community gathered here today. I ask that the words inspired are pleasing. I ask that out of all the stories, words and phrases that I could have chosen, that the ones I did choose do not get in your way.

A few months ago when I agreed to stand up here and do a little speechifying, I thought I might do a little something around Independence Day. Shelley Johnson told me I needed to go deeper rather than play it safe. So I’m going to play it a little less safe. Just a little. Maybe. So here we go…

I believe the Bible applies to everyone. Did I sense a bit of a cringe out there somewhere? Why is that? Maybe you’ve heard someone say something similar before? Is it because the Bible has so often been used to dehumanize and marginalize those that don’t fit an interpretation of the Bible? I’m going to come at it from a different angle. I’m not going to talk about all the rules and how others don’t live up to those rules. Instead I am going to begin by talking about how much God loves each and every person that has spent time here on Earth, is currently here on Earth, and all of those that are yet to be here. That’s right, seven billion plus and who knows how many more yet to come. All who were, all who are and all who are yet to be are Beloved children of God. All have and will be known and knitted together in their mother’s womb. All have and will be beautifully and wondrously made in the image of God.

I invite you now to turn with me to the scripture for today. It’s easy to find because it’s right up front – Genesis chapter 1. I have selected verses 20 through 31.

<Scripture from pew Bible>

This Bible is a gift from my mom. It has spent a great deal of time in my backpack. It has been on several mission trips and retreats. It has also been on many, many hikes. I have a smaller Bible that would be better suited in size and weight to pack along on snow covered trails with 2000 or more feet in elevation gain but this one is from my mom. The only love greater than that of a mother for her child is God’s love.

I used a devotional out of this Bible on both youth mission trips last summer. If you were lucky enough to be on one of those trips then you’ve heard this before. Otherwise I am going to share it with you now. If you are comfortable doing so, I invite you to close your eyes and let the words really sink in.

You are wondrously made

Deliberately made

Not a creature of coincidence

Not a random consequence

Wondrously

Deliberately

Made

Crafted by God

Crafted for a purpose, a promise

A gift not to be squandered

Or cheapened

Or tossed aside by others… Or yourself

Wondrous

Deliberate

Loved

Loved in a way that cannot be ignored

Loved with a passion that inspires a response

I invite you to open your eyes. Do you feel loved? I hope so. When I first read this devotional the word that stuck out to me was, “crafted” because there is a great deal of difference between being made and crafted.  Made implies assembly line. Crafted, on the other hand, implies that a great deal of attention was paid to the creation of an object or a person. I have had the privilege of having craftsmen in my family. My dad’s father was a carpenter. He also made furniture from time to time. My sisters each have a dresser. The joints on the drawers are dovetailed. The drawers are square and true such that they glide easily. He made toy boxes for my brother and I. They are far more rugged construction to hold up to the carelessness of young boys. The dressers and toy boxes are not works of art but the careful attention to quality materials and construction has made them last for decades.

My father is also a craftsman. He made each of his granddaughters a crib for their dolls. The cribs took weeks of careful and deliberate work to complete. He is also a machinist and continues to create parts out of various materials. I think where I’ve noticed his craftsmanship most over the years is when he built radio controlled aircraft.  He took much longer to build an airplane than anyone else in his club. I knew why because I watched how he glued each joint with care and precision. I watched as he paid attention to the center of gravity as he built the fuselage. I watched as he made sure the wheels spun just right so that take offs and landings were smooth rather than squirrelly and unpredictable. I watched as he put a piece of himself into each aircraft that he built.

I believe that God is a craftsman. We are told that we are known even before we are born. We are knitted together carefully in the womb. We are beautifully and wondrously crafted. I believe that there is a piece of God in each and every one of us.

I selected verses from the Old and New Testaments to try and illustrate how much God loves us – each and every one of us. I also wanted to illustrate how God tells us over and over again throughout the Bible that we are loved. In John 13:34 Jesus commands his disciples to, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Aren’t we also supposed to love one another as we have been loved? I think so. The second great commandment tells us that we are supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves. It’s a pretty tall order but I think we are supposed to strive for that. God sets the example and meets us where we are – loving us first. Knowing that we are loved makes it easier to love ourselves, love others as we love ourselves and to love others as we are loved by God.

Are you now feeling like I set you up? I got you feeling all good about yourself and loved and turned it around to where I might have you thinking that you need to do something or take some action. Maybe you think I’ve tied things together that shouldn’t be. I’m OK with that. But since I have more to say along these lines I’m going ahead with it anyway.

One of the things that I truly mourn on a near daily basis is that I think this country as a whole has begun to put people together in nameless, faceless groups. It makes it much easier to dehumanize and marginalize people. Conservatives are stupid. Liberals are touchy feely sissies. Some use childish names like repugnicans or democraps. Never mind all the slurs relating to race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and so on that are tossed around carelessly. Where is the love for the beloved children of God within those groups?

I am guilty of this as well. I know that I get caught up in the rhetoric too. One of the practices that I have begun recently is to turn to the devotion that I read earlier, think of some group or person that I dislike and read the devotion as if I am talking to them.

Let’s try it together. I invite you to think of a group or someone in particular who you may not like that much. Got ‘em? I invite you to again close your eyes and as I speak the words imagine that you are saying the words to them.

You are wondrously made

Deliberately made

Not a creature of coincidence

Not a random consequence

Wondrously

Deliberately

Made

Crafted by God

Crafted for a purpose, a promise

A gift not to be squandered

Or cheapened

Or tossed aside by me… Or yourself

Wondrous

Deliberate

Loved

Loved in a way that cannot be ignored

Loved with a passion that inspires a response

<Amen>