Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Matthew 6:33-34 (The Message)
What is the primary lesson we learn as we travel through Lent? Do we learn that the discipline of sacrifice is difficult? Do we learn that loving others as God has loved us is difficult? Do we learn that what others consider empty rituals have life and meaning after all?
We learn all those things, yes, but none of them is the primary lesson we learn when we observe Lent. The primary lesson is a refresher on the Great Commandment—“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything else in the life of faith is commentary on those two commands. Lent prepares us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead with a real appreciation for the sacrifice that was required in order to get there. How can we be grateful to Jesus for dying for us, if we do not see why that took place and the real difference his sacrifice makes for our lives?
I’ll close with a story from the material we are sharing together at Mt. Healthy on Wednesday nights. “The Talmud teaches that every person should fully repent one day before his death. ‘But how will I know when that day is?’ you may ask. ‘Treat every day as if it were the day before your last.’ Arrange your life around what matters most. Starting today.”
In Christ,
Michael
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Matthew 6:33-34 (The Message)
What is the primary lesson we learn as we travel through Lent? Do we learn that the discipline of sacrifice is difficult? Do we learn that loving others as God has loved us is difficult? Do we learn that what others consider empty rituals have life and meaning after all?
We learn all those things, yes, but none of them is the primary lesson we learn when we observe Lent. The primary lesson is a refresher on the Great Commandment—“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Everything else in the life of faith is commentary on those two commands. Lent prepares us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead with a real appreciation for the sacrifice that was required in order to get there. How can we be grateful to Jesus for dying for us, if we do not see why that took place and the real difference his sacrifice makes for our lives?
I’ll close with a story from the material we are sharing together at Mt. Healthy on Wednesday nights. “The Talmud teaches that every person should fully repent one day before his death. ‘But how will I know when that day is?’ you may ask. ‘Treat every day as if it were the day before your last.’ Arrange your life around what matters most. Starting today.”
In Christ,
Michael
