The other day I was doing the laundry and as I was moving the clothes out of the dryer I remembered something very important. You have to clean out the lint trap before you start another load. So I pulled out the trap and started scraping the fuzzy stuff off the screen. As I was doing this, I started wondering who invented the lint trap. It is an important invention, but I had no idea who takes credit for it. So I decided to Google it. Sadly I was not able to narrow it down to one inventor. I wanted to give credit where credit was due, but alas the person who gave us the lint of the trap will remain in obscurity for now.

That got me thinking about other people who gave us things that we don’t give credit to. Oh sure, there is Henry Ford and Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin, but did you know that Godtfred Christianson gave us Legos? Did you know that F. H. Bennett gave us the dog biscuit? Did you know that Earl Tupper gave us Tupperware? It’s true, but how often do we give them credit?

In today’s Scripture lesson, credit is given for three great gifts that are given to us. Jesus tells us about the Father’s love and the Holy Spirit’s comfort and the Savior’s peace. Our world emphasizes the pull yourself up by your boot straps mentality and urges us to take the credit for our own joy and happiness. But today let us give credit where credit is due for our happiness. These three fantastic gifts are given to us by God.

Jesus begins his statement with, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him…” Those words can hit us squarely in this face, especially when we start asking the hard the questions. Do I really love Jesus? Have I shown that love in my words and actions? Have I shown that love by how I serve Jesus? Have I really shown that love in the way I deal with my family? Have I shown that love to my fellow Christians? Have I shown that love those who are dying in unbelief?

I pray that no one here is thinking, “Oh, well he is not talking about me. He’s talking about that person over there.” Our own selfishness so often beats down the love that we ought to be showing to Jesus. And don’t think that your sinful words and actions didn’t have consequences. Don’t think that your sins were thought of as minor. Our Heavenly Father demands perfection from us and we have fallen short. There was a steep price to be paid for our transgressions.

Thankfully, our Heavenly Father’s love has covered our transgressions. He demanded payment for our each and everyone of our sins, but out of love for us, he didn’t make us pay. He acted out of love and unselfishly and gave his own Son to be the perfection that was required. He gave his Son to die an excruciating death on the cross to pay our debt in full. That is the love of the Father.

And Jesus said that if we really love him, we will obey his teaching. We will believe in him for our full and free salvation. We will serve Jesus with every word and action. And the result of our faith in Jesus, who lived, died, and rose for us is spectacular – The Father will love us and “We will come to him and make our home with him.” We will live with him forever in heaven.

Our salvation has been won for us. Our debt has been paid in full. But we must also be on guard because the devil tempts us each and every day. That is why Jesus says that if you really love him, you will obey him. You will place God first in every aspect of your life. And because you love him, you will obey him. And because you obey his teachings, Jesus’ promise is that your Loving Father will bring you to heaven. Let us give the Father credit for his love.

Jesus goes on to tell us that the Holy Spirit also gives us a gift, the gift of comfort. The Savior said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit is the Counselor, or Comforter. He gives us this remarkable gift to help us as we go through life’s ups and downs. And we are told that he gives us this comfort through the words of Jesus. Think about it. Your true comfort in this life comes from Scripture. Only in the words of Scripture are you told that your sins are completely forgiven. In that wonderful gospel, you are comforted by the fact that Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. What a great comfort that is!

But here’s the thing, if you will not listen to the word of God you will not hear this comfort. If you think that you get enough of that comfort in an hour or two on Sunday morning, you won’t have the benefit and joy of being comforted by the Holy Spirit each and every day. We are good at making excuses as to why we can’t hear the Word. Some people say, “I know all that stuff already.” Really? It is my job to be in the Word of God every day. I went to school 12 years studying the Bible and I don’t know everything. Another excuse that I hear is that people say that they are just too busy to receive the Holy Spirit’s comfort. Is that really true or have you just made other things more of a priority. People will often make everything else more in important than worship, Bible study, and their own personal devotional life.

And those of you who are parents, think about this one. If you keep your children from hearing the word of God, they will not receive the Holy Spirit’s comfort. Ask yourselves if you are responsible for this tragedy. Ask yourself if it really worth it for your children to be involved in so many things but you don’t take advantage of Sunday school or our Christian Day School for them.

All of us have fallen short. All of us have mixed up our priorities at times. And when we realize that is when the comfort of the Holy Spirit means the most. In the Word the Holy Spirit comforts us with the message that our sins are forgiven and God loves us. Let us give credit to the Holy Spirit for his gift of comfort.

And then we come to the third blessing that Jesus tells us about. It comes from him. He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” People crave peace in their lives, especially in this crazy world where our lives can be turned upside in a heartbeat. In the midst of all this chaos, Jesus offers us the gift of peace. And what a tremendous blessing it is.

Jesus was about to leave his disciples. In the days and years following they would be arrested, tortured, and martyred. He assured them though that he would give them peace. And the reality of it all is this: We also face troubles and hardships in this life. We come face to face with many difficulties. That is the result of living in a sinful world. However, as Christians, we have peace from Jesus. We can face these troubles fearlessly head on because we have the reassurances of a loving Savior.

The peace that Jesus gives is not like the peace of this world. The peace that the world offers relies on things that do not last. The peace that Jesus gives is founded on a relationship that lasts forever. That relationship was forged with his blood. That relationship was made eternally secure by his resurrection. Because Jesus lived and died and rose for us, we can have a relationship with him and the Father. We can have true peace. That is why Jesus can say to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” In the end he is with us. In the end we will be with him in heaven. That is true peace. Let us give credit to our Savior for his gift of peace.

We don’t always give people the credit they deserve for the gifts they give us. I have never sent a Thank You card to Earl Tupper for giving us Tupperware. But I hope and pray that we, as a body of Christians gathered around the Word and Sacraments, never cease in giving God the credit for all the gifts he gives us, especially the Father’s love, the Holy Spirit’s comfort, and the Savior’s peace. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Amen.