We are flesh. We grow like the flower and show our beauty, but soon we grow old and pale. Soon we return to the dust. We are finite. We are restricted by time and space. We can only be in one place at a time. Our knowledge is so limited. We learn and we forget what we learn. We only see through a glass dimly. We are full of sin. We have transgressed Thy Law and are worthy only of death. We have defiled our bodies and we have defiled our minds. We are but dust and to the dust we shall return. This we confess, we deserve.

O Lord, how can we breach the gulf that lies between us? How can we commune with the infinite? How can a man who is sinful ascend to the holy hill? We do not belong in the same space as You. We are not worthy to have You into our home. We are not worthy to have You in our own hearts. The mysteries are just too great. We live in a world beaten down by tornados, hurricanes, disease, and death. Suffering is rampant. Hope is often stolen from us. We suffer heartache. We suffer with pain in our frail bodies. We watch others suffer and it seems like there is very little we can do. We ask the same questions as the world. Why O Lord, Why? The Creation is so wonderful and full of glory, but life can be so dark. The evil man prospers and the good man suffers. Sometimes, it all just seems upside down. Sometimes, it just all seems to work out wrong.

Yet, Lord, You have been merciful and humbled Yourself in the form of a man and dwelled among us. In Jesus Christ, we see God. The eternal became finite. The mystery was revealed. You lived among us without sin, yet suffering the same ills that we suffer. You put yourself under the curse of sin so that You might sympathize with us. You suffered unfairly. You felt pain in the body and rottenness in the soul. You died a shameful death at an early age. Indeed you did feel our pain.

Not only did you breach the gulf between us and God, but you answered our questions as far as we are capable of understanding. You told us as much as we are able to handle. You told us that suffering and pain have a purpose, but we must trust in Thy wisdom and leave it all with Thee. Someday, we will understand fully.

You defeated death at the cross and you paid the penalty of our sin. You broke the power of Satan and crushed his head at the cross. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and who have been called according to His purpose.

That is the good news. As we stand and stare into the sky, we feel so small and insignificant. We wonder if we have any value at all. We have made of mess of so many things in our lives. Life is full of pain and suffering. We are often so confused and frustrated. What is the answer to it all? What is it all about? Where is the meaning to it all?

To Jesus we turn. To Him we come to listen and to learn. He is our Teacher. He is our Hope. In Him we find integrity. In Him we find sincerity. In Him we find One who is holy and distant as God, but who is also near and full of compassion as both God and man. He cries with us when we cry. He hurts when we hurt. He is sad when we are sad. No one knows the troubles we have seen but Jesus. O Jesus, be our Savior. Be our friend. Be our confident. Be our hope in the dark world.

Come to us this morning. We search for Thee, but unless You come to us we will never find Thee. When a man cries out for God, you never refuse him. There is not one You have rejected down through all of history.