“Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). God’s Law puts us all to death, and only His Gospel can bring us to life. Faith knows this, and clings to Christ, even when suffering comes (cf. Heb 11), even when the Word divides families, even when God’s Law necessarily shows our need for repentance. True Christian faith knows that Christ has fulfilled God’s Law for us, that He endured a distressing baptism of fire (Luke 12:49-50), accomplished by His death, in order to open the way for us—through our Holy Baptism—into eternal life. So, then, if we are able “to interpret the appearance of earth and sky” (Luke 12:56), let us make the sign of His cross, confessing that Christ Jesus has conquered death and obtained life everlasting for us. By faith (Heb. 11), let us humbly receive the hammer of His Word, as necessary, that we might trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and life.