Nevertheless

As I mentioned in yesterday’s posting, I am attending the New England Synod Assembly. There have been numerous moving moments. Moments that gave me chills (the good kind), moments that gave me pause to think, moments that touched my heart.

One particular part that pretty much did all three (chills, pause and touched), was the sermon given at the service last night. It was a long sermon and I can’t remember it word for word or even the main highlights. But there was one part that stood out. The pastor explained the importance of the word “nevertheless” in the Bible. For example:

The Israelites were held in dark captivity in Egypt, nevertheless….

David had to face down Goliath with nothing but a slingshot and a stone, nevertheless….

Herod killed all the baby boys, two years and younger, around Bethlehem, nevertheless….

Jesus was dying on the cross and cried out to his Father, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”, nevertheless….

The women came to the grave to take care of Jesus’ body, nevertheless…

I could go on and on and on. There are so many examples. But the basic message here is that no matter how bleak things may seem, no matter how bad things get, nevertheless, NEVERTHELESS, God is here. He is here for us. There is always a “nevertheless”.

All the religious stuff, all the man-made laws of how to worship God or how to be a child of God, all the people making statements on behalf of God when in fact they haven’t a clue what is God’s will; all the muddy, sloppy, strict, rules, regulations, and joyless doctrine that clouds our relationship with God…all of that stuff doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is this:

God is love and he loves us. Quietly, gently, as a parent loves his children, as a brother loves his sibling, as the Creator loves his creation. We are his. He never moves away from us. We move away from him. He is always here. No matter what. Nevertheless!