9. Martin Luther
Where are our modern day Martin Luthers? Martin Luther rejected the tradition of indulgences. He taught that having been made righteous we do righteous deeds, and we are saved by grace only. Luther himself shared, in the Wittenberg edition of his Latin works, that he hated the righteous God who punishes. He shared his struggle to understand the Psalm 31:1 and was confused about how God’s righteousness (seen as wrath) could deliver. He states, “not only did I not love, but I actually hated the righteous God who punishes sinners… this furious battle raged within my perplexed consciousness, but meanwhile I was knocking at the door of this particular Pauline passage, earnestly seeking to know the mind of the great Apostle. Day and night I tired to meditate upon the significance of these words… then finally God had mercy on me, and I began to understand… now I felt as though I had been reborn all together and had entered Paradise.”
What was the key to unlock the mystery of God to Luther, his perseverance and faith. Despite his confusion, even anger with God, he continued to “earnestly seek.” Rather than reject the scripture because he could not understand, he meditated on it day and night. He did not wait to understand in order to believe, he believed, he had faith, so that he may “know the mind of the great Apostle.” Luther stayed in the battle with God, he drew nearer to Him, and finally God showed him the message.
We can also learn from the Scholastics. Thomas Aquinas said, “I do not seek to understand so that I may believe, but I believe so that I may understand, and what is more; I believe that unless I do believe I shall not understand.”
I wonder if the Church today had such faith, such perseverance, to draw nearer to God, spending more time meditating on the scripture, what insights and understanding he would reveal to us? We are so quick to debate each other on matters of abortion, sexuality, addiction, but have we stopped and taken the battle to God. I believe that the Body of Christ today has gotten so caught up in “how” to do things that we have forgotten “who” we are doing them in the name of. We have wandered away from our Father, and a close intimate relationship with Him. We must spend time with God, reading and meditating on His word, asking His Spirit to intercede for us, to have mercy on us, to bring us new understandings.
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