4-30-23 Jesus is the Holy Insurance

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Jesus is the Holy Insurance

I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: Mr. Smith was brought to Mercy Hospital (a Catholic hospital) and taken quickly in for coronary surgery. The operation went well, and as the groggy man regained consciousness, he was reassured by a sister of Mercy Hospital, who was waiting by his bed.

“Mr. Smith, you’re going to be just fine,” said the nun, gently patting his hand. “We need to know how you intend to pay for your stay here. Does insurance cover you?” “No, I don’t have it,” the man whispered hoarsely. “Then can you pay in cash?” persisted the nun. “I’m afraid I cannot, Sister.” “Well, do you have any close relatives?” the nun questioned sternly. “Just my sister in New Mexico, but she’s a humble spinster nun,” he said. “Oh, I must correct you, Mr. Smith. Nuns are not spinsters-they are married to God.” “Wonderful,” said Mr. Smith. “In that case, please send the bill to my brother-in-law.”

Have you ever thought of why you became a Christian? Most of you were Christians from birth. Honestly, you might have even been considered a Christian in your mother’s womb. However, at times, you may have thought seriously about when you actually became a Christian You may have had an opportunity to decide your faith through the confirmation of your teenagers. You may think about it whenever you face a life crisis, or sometimes you may wander far from the faith community.

Many people who don’t know about Jesus are still are good at helping others. They may live what appears to be a better life than Christians do. Yes, we should live in the world as well as we can. However, it is not all, because we are the Easter people living eternal life. If all family members believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior and the Lord, it is the best blessing for that family. So, I ask you every Sunday to pray for those who don’t believe in God yet among your family, relatives, and loved ones. I bless you and your family members who believe in Jesus Christ and worship him daily. We should believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior and the Lord because he is our insurance of salvation and eternal life.
As we learned through Genesis, we became living beings by God’s Spirit from the beginning of the world God created, which means we are connected to God in spirit. As long as we are connected to God, we may live in eternity. However, the first human beings, Adam and Eve, went away from God. The Scripture, Romans, say, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). However, God still loves them and wanted to protect and save them from the death. Finally, God sent us His Only Son, Jesus Christ. The Gospel John says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). So, we can be reconnected with God through Jesus Christ for eternal life. Romans says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).

Yes, Jesus is the only way to get to God. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We confess we are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ through the grace of God. Such faith in Jesus Christ may cure our physical and spiritual illnesses. We found that when Jesus healed the sick, he used to say, “Your faith saved you,” but he did not say, “I heal you.” Such faith in Jesus Christ leads us to God and eternal life.

Before today’s scripture, there was a big miraculous event in which Jesus cured a man who was blind from birth. He used to beg for his life on the street and was known as a blind beggar. So, many people were surprised to find out that he could see and asked how he got his sight back. He answered that the one called Jesus cured him, and now he could see. And people brought him to the Pharisees (the religious leaders) and told them about what happened to him. The Pharisees thought Jesus was not from God because he cured the blind on Sabbath day, which went against the Law. The Pharisees were more focused on the fact that Jesus went against the Law than that he healed blind people because they were concerned that people were following Jesus, and not following them. However, the man said, “You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” And then the Pharisees threw him out.

At that time, people trusted in Pharisees as being the gate of heaven, and people respected them and followed their teachings. In other words, they were the Law; if anyone didn’t follow them, they were regarded as going against God. Hearing they threw him out, Jesus told them the story about the good shepherd and sheep. The story of shepherds and sheep was familiar to Israelite people because many were stock farmers. You may know that King David was also a shepherd.

Sheep follow their owners; they know their owner’s voice; they follow their owner when they call their names. It is like our beloved pets. If you have pets, you easily understand what that means. Here is an example: Who would your pet follow if you and a stranger called your pet’s name at the same time? Yes, of course, they would follow you. Your pet knows you and your place; they know you are the owner; they know you take care of them; they know you feed them; they know you protect them; they know you love them; that’s why they follow you rather than others. Likewise, Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are his sheep. We should recognize Jesus’ voice, which means the words of God, and follow his direction. Jesus said, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pastures.” Jesus is only the good shepherd who lays down his life to save his sheep. Remember how Jesus loved us and died on the cross to save us from our sins.

We have medical insurance. The medical insurance is good enough to cover our needs if we have any medical issues. We have auto insurance to cover us if we have any car accidents. We also have insurance for our property, such as houses, land, and buildings. However, we know that insurance will only protect us for a while. Some day we will die, even if we have medical, auto, and other types of insurance. Have you ever thought about insurance for our eternal life? What if we die having insurance for eternal life? I am not kidding. It is true, Jesus is our life-long insurance but also our insurance for eternal life. Jesus said to Martha, who was sad about the loss of her brother Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). I ask you, do you believe this? Jesus is our holy insurance; He is the Savior and the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen!