Good news of Jesus!

“The lake (Superior), it is said, never gives up her dead … when the gales of November come early.” And so goes the story of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
This is probably the most recognized ship disaster of the Great Lakes, due in large part to Gordon Lightfoot’s 1975 ballad of the same name. Forty-six years ago, on Nov. 10, the Edmund Fitzgerald — with a crew of 29 — sank into the freezing waters of Lake Superior.
Sadly, life is filled with tragedy — whether it affects an individual, a family, a community or the nation. This despite the fact that God never intended for disasters of any kind to be a part of his creation. God originally gave mankind a perfect world, a perfect body and perfect soul.
But with Adam and Eve’s disobedience long ago in Eden’s Garden came the destruction of God’s perfect paradise: the influx of sin, a sinful nature, and death that infects the heart of every human being. Sin brings trouble and death to all of us. “… the whole world is a prisoner of sin.” Gal. 3:22. Left to ourselves, there is no escape. Like the doomed crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, we too would be lost forever if God had not given us his precious Word of both Law and Gospel.
The Law is necessary. It crushes us by exposing our utter sinfulness and our need for a Savior. It shows how impossible it is for us to keep all of God’s commands. We struggle and fail each and every day.
Thankfully, though, the Gospel provides the ultimate Life Preserver that rescues us from our sin. It saves us when nothing else could. It reveals the Good News that God has forgiven all our sins through the perfect life, innocent death and victorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus took our place and succeeded, and he now reaches down to pull us out of the deadly waters of our sin.
As the Gospel assures us, “Whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. All who believe and trust in Jesus as their personal Savior receive real forgiveness, peace with God, new life now as Christians, and the certainty of life everlasting with the Lord and all believers in the glories of heaven.
Such wonderful Good News fills us with heartfelt thankfulness and gratitude. God truly loves us and has saved us. And this becomes the motivation for our showing selfless love toward others, living for Christ and His glory, as well as telling others the Good News of Jesus, our Brother and Savior! May our gracious God, who has blessed us in so many ways, empower and enable us to do so.