Lutheran Devotional 26th October 2025, Sunday Message
TOPIC: The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace
“The Gospel shows the Father’s grace, Who gave His Son to save our race, Proclaims how Jesus lived and died That we might thus be justified.
“It is the pow’r of God to save From sin and Satan and the grave; It works the faith which firmly clings To all the treasures which it brings.”
In Jesus’ parable of the sower, not all of the seed falls on good soil. The seed, the Word of God, is scattered abundantly across the landscape, but the Word does not take root in every heart. Some people hear the Gospel, but reject the story of salvation as merely a myth. Others think that a crucifixion more than 2,000 years ago has no importance on their lives today. If people reject what the Word of God says about sin, they see no need for repentance or the Gospel. Such people are like the hard path or the rocky soil in the parable. To them, the Gospel is merely a story.
The Gospel is the good news of God’s grace, that is, His undeserved favor toward sinners, and of all that He has done in Christ Jesus to save us. It is a story, but it is so much more. The story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection carries within itself the hope and promise of forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in the Savior. The Gospel is a story that delivers what it promises. The farmer in the parable scatters the seed, but a single seed is not very impressive. It is a tiny, hard-shelled kernel that appears lifeless. Yet that tiny seed has the power of life and growth within itself. The planted seed springs to life, and the new plant pushes its way through the soil. It is a life-giving mystery. As the farmer sleeps and rises again to work, “the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how” (Mark 4:27b).
The Gospel is a growing, life-giving seed. As the apostle Paul writes, the Gospel of Jesus “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16b). The Gospel is the good news of God’s grace and of Jesus’ saving death and triumphant resurrection. The Gospel is the promise that all who believe in Jesus receive forgiveness for their sins and eternal life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, that simple seed of a story takes root in our lives and explodes into faith, forgiveness, and life. Through that Gospel seed, the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts, forgives our sins, and grants to us eternal life. The Spirit then leads us to produce the fruit of good works that glorify God. All of that begins with the Gospel story-seed that “is the pow’r of God to save” and “works the faith which firmly clings to all the treasures which it brings.”
WE PRAY: Lord God, accept my grateful praise for the treasures of forgiveness and eternal life. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- What obstacles do people face in believing the Gospel today?
- What parallels do you see to a seed growing and maturing and the way a Christian grows and develops in his or her faith?
- Why is it important to share God’s Word with others? How does God attend to His Word once it has been shared?
Today’s Readings:
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “The Gospel Shows the Father’s Grace,” which is number 580 in the Lutheran Service Book.
