“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, but apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5
The Season of Lent will begin this year on Ash Wednesday, which is February 14th.
The Season of Lent is a time for Christians to remember Jesus’s redeeming love for His children, even while we were still sinners. Through Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross, He restored our relationship with God and gave us hope of salvation.
Psalm 103:13-14 is sometimes quoted during Ash Wednesday services, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”
Recognition of our weaknesses runs counterintuitive to messages pushed in our current culture. We live in a society that emphasizes individual strength and abilities, that often devalues the essentialness of a faith-based community to stand firmly behind us, that often identifies individuals as their own gods.
But Scriptures remind us that we are but dust.
Any Christian who has walked in the Spirit for any length of time can attest, the more we try to forge ahead on our own, the more difficult our path becomes. It is arduous indeed to surrender our own longings, desires, and wishes to another – even if the other is a perfect Savior, divine Counselor, gentle and loving Father.
Paul, formerly Saul, a persecutor of Christians until a divine encounter with God on the Road to Damascus changed his heart, wrote this to the church in Corinth, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10.)
When we are weak, then we are strong – because through humility, Christ is able to dwell in us.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2)
When listening to a past sermon about the Season of Lent, a pastor encouraged his congregants to view the traditional principles of Lent differently. Instead of giving something UP for Lent that year, he encouraged his congregants to give an area of their lives OVER to God.
Giving UP our sins, our strongholds, our unhealthy habits through our own strength and accord will most likely lead to defeat.
But giving our sins, our strongholds, our unhealthy habits OVER to the God who loves us so, offers a glimmer of hope.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)
This Lenten season, may I offer prayers of encouragement and hope, that whatever is holding you back from surrendering your iniquities to the Lord will be removed from you.
May we find the glory and strength and beauty in giving that which we cannot conquer ourselves over to our perfect and living God.
And may we reflect on the mighty hope we have, that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Psalm of King David, Psalm 103:
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children, with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.”