Director’s Letter
Genuine Mercy
The compassionate mercy of Jesus — reaching out with care for those who are suffering and broken, in the very moment of greatest need — is so integral to the Church’s mission and ministry, so irrevocably woven into our life together, that we might be tempted to take such mercy for granted. It’s like the air that we breathe. Such “forgetfulness” is of no advantage to the living Body of Christ. His is genuine mercy, our only true comfort. In steadfast willingness, in long suffering, in intentionally bending down in the form of a servant to care for the needs of fellow human beings who are distressed in body and soul, we bring this comfort and mercy to others. His is the true cross from which flows the glad good news of sins forgiven, the resurrection of the body, the life everlasting. This is the mercy that the world so desperately needs right now (Lam. 3:22–23).
What kind of a world are you praying for, right now, even while you wait to be called home to heaven? A countless multitude of fellow baptized saints around the LCMS are answering that question in surprisingly impactful ways. Sometimes our steps are halting and uncoordinated; progress seems painfully slow as sinners trip and stumble over one another in our narrow-minded inability to perceive the power of Christ’s mercy at work in the other. Then again, at other times, we are given a blessing to realize the outcome of our labors in a vivid, well-orchestrated symphony of contributors who eagerly and selflessly put forward their gifts and capacities. At all times and in all circumstances, under the watchful, grace-filled gaze of the Lord who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4), Christ’s mercy delivered is the cause for rejoicing.
Get a glimpse of Christ’s mercy in this issue — and rejoice!
In Christ,
Rev. Kevin D. Robson
Chief Mission Officer, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
