The children ask, “What movie are we going to see tonight?” Of course, the Jeong family tradition is to watch a movie every Friday night at home. A wonderful time it is to see great movies with wonderful acting and intriguing plots. And after the movie concludes, the ending credits [seemingly at a snail’s pace] scroll down the screen. Usually, it is my cue to turn on the lights and say, “Let’s get ready for bed”. Yet more often than not, the children say, “Wait, Dad!, Let’s watch the credits!”. And with mild reluctance I respond, “all right, let’s watch the credits”. And as we watch the names of the actors, directors, producers, composers, crew members and every name that contributed to the movie, it always reminds me of the hard work and dedication of many people to bring any movie to fruition. And as the credits continued to scroll down the screen, I asked myself, “if life was a movie script, what would my ending credits be?” Who would be the lead actor, director, or producer? Who would be the composer or the costume designer?

And though we might credit many people in our lives, we soon realize that it begins and ends with our Lord. From creation, redemption and sanctification [Apostles Creed], our ending credits are chock-full of God’s mercy. Not only is it chock-full [as this is an understatement] but rather, the entirety of our lives is credited to God and His grace. For it is our Lord who continues to bless us as the director, producer, composer, designer and all the rest! Thanks be to God for the credits which flow from His Word and Sacraments. For we know that in our sin, the only credits are from above. Therefore, we thank the Lord for His continued mercy and grace upon us. But why does our Lord do such things?

“All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness, and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him”.
Apostles Creed Art I Explanation

Indeed, the credit belongs to our Lord for He is the God of our salvation, the one who by His love, sent His Son into the flesh to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World. Yes, our Lord endured and suffered for you by His death upon the Cross. And through the shedding of His blood, and His resurrection on Easter morning, all credit flows from the victorious empty tomb of our Lord. Thanks be to God for “the credits!”, for without him, from where would these credits flow?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.
[LSB Hymn 805]

✝️ Pastor Jeong

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2022/2022-04-Newsletter.pdf