The LWML’s in the two Carolinas will meet in September and their theme is “May God Embrace Us with His Grace”. This theme is from the first 7 verses of Psalm 67.
Psalm 67:1May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,2that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 6The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Most people ask that God bless them so that they live happier lives and have the ability to care for themselves and their families. From a Lutheran perspective God blesses us so that we can be blessings to others. God first explained this concept back in the Old Testament when He said to Abraham “I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2–3). It is the same idea expressed in Isaiah, “I will give you
[Israel] as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
What we think of as a Thanksgiving text is a mission text. God blesses His people so that He may be known, verse 2; be praised, verse 3, be “savored”, verse 4 and finally, be respected, verse 7. He wants this for the whole world.
What a great theme for a missionary league. So for all the LWML’ers out there God’s richest blessings so that you can spread the message of salvation. We want to be confessors so that the nations know the true God, not some concocted life coach in the sky. We want people to praise God for His salvation revealed in Christ. We want people to savor this God and the ways that He rustles around in this world and works through His believers vocations and prayers. We want people to respect Him for what He has done in redeeming us and making us His.
