Lent

There is just way too much going on in the world today. Egypt. Libya. Japan. Not to mention all of the things each of us has going on in our personal lives. Of course these vary according to our season of life but even those of us without places to report for work each day have our own burdens. The pace of life is for me at least, and perhaps for some of you, sometimes a bit overwhelming.

And Lent arrives. How do you fit Lent into this? How do you fit Jesus into this?

I don’t expect that many of you even have the time to read this blog entry, let alone fit a Lenten Bible Study or Daily Lenten Devotion into your life. This is sad. And I include myself right in there in my lament. I found something very helpful to me this Lenten season, a Lenten Devotional I could download to my smartphone or laptop. I put it on the youth website so you can download it. Just go to www.coatesvillemoca.org and click on the link to download the .pdf. But, even with this convenience, I find it difficult to keep up. Yesterday I confess, I read 4 devotions in one day to catch up.

Before long, Good Friday will arrive, whether I’m ready or not. Good Friday means a lot to me. I think it should mean a lot to every human. It’s such an ugly day to get through. It reminds me of my imperfection, but it also reminds me of how my imperfection is viewed through God’s very own self-sacrifice. I am perfected only when viewed through God’s gift of Christ. I am tempted to feel a tremendous debt to God, a debt I have no hope to repay. And neither does our world have any hope to repay for the tragic choices we make in the way we treat our fellow humans.

But - God does not desire repayment. Our life, our free will, and our perfection in Christ, are all freely given gifts from God our Creator. All we need to do is come to a place where we say, “God, I owe a huge debt. Thank You Jesus for paying it on my behalf. Holy Spirit, how can I do anything else with my life but love you back, by trying my best to live a life that puts a smile on your face? I know I will fail time and time again, but time and time again, You will cover my imperfection. Thank You Jesus. Amen.”

Happy Hiking and God Bless,

- allen